A/N: I had been working on this one-shot for awhile. I know there's probably PLENTY of mistakes that could be found in here, I kind of rushed A LOT of parts, especially "those moments". *cough cough*

Anyway, I tried to make my OC in this story, Alisa Lawton NOT Mary-Sue. I also tried my best to make the characters NOT OOC. Go to the bottom of this story, at the Author's Notes, there will be some info about Alisa's flaws, so she's not Mary-Sue, why i had typed the characters like that etc. etc.

There's a possible chance that there will be a sequel, focusing around the times when Kalin was Dark Signer. This one-shot is set before the original time of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. So... THE ENFORCERS' time (again)! If you had read "Do you Love Me" one-shot, I noticed that i had made Alta...kinda Mary Sueish, because of how she ended her duel with Crow in ONE TURN. *GAGS* Forgive me for that, I kind of been reading some stories of Quizilla, and guess what, their OCs are Mary Sue... But ever since i heard of Mary Sue, and how NON-Mary Sueish OCs on Fanfiction, i realised that Mary Sues...blehh, they don't exist. NOW, i think they're SOOO perfect to the point where's it's sickening. It's good to have flaws, you know...

So if you want to see how Alisa's not a Mary Sue, just go all the way DOWN to the last Author's Notes. I will list some stuff...

OK! I hope you'll enjoy this! :D

...I think i need to stop ranting. And this is kinda long...whoops

Full Summary: Abandoned by her parents, Alisa finds herself in Satellite, with nowhere to go. But when Kalin offers her a hand for the first time in her life, Alisa finds herself falling for him as time passes. Throw in Jack Atlas wearing a pink, frilly apron, Crow Hogan playing the role of an idiotic matchmaker, and Yusei Fudo as the 'sensible person who keeps calm despite the situations.' And…don't forget a packet of tissues and a frying pan for Martha! Watch as Alisa and Kalin struggles to recognise their mutual feelings…and Crow, Jack, Yusei hiding in the bushes? OC x Kalin Kessler. OC

-|A Knight and his Princess|-

Kalin Kessler [Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's] One-shot

"Why?" the man, Harold Lawton, a solemn-looking man with dark brown hair and eyes to match, demanded angrily, as he paced around the room, emitting a furious aura, "Director Rex Goodwin had my company bankrupt." He snarled in fury, "I knew I should've never trusted him in the first place!"

"Now dear…" his wife, Marissa Lawton, an elegant lady with long, straight black hair and cerulean eyes, began, with a soothing voice, hoping to calm down her enraged husband who was now tearing the roots of his hair out, "Calm down…Just calm down, and we'll settle this somehow."

"Settle this?" the man roared, "NO! We can't…I lost everything. Everything, Marissa. Money, the company. We don't even have a place to live in anymore. No roof over our heads." He sighed, as his shoulders slumped down, defeated. "I give up…no, I gave up long ago…" he whispered.

His wife was silent, as she stared at her husband in despair. Her daughter, Alisa Lawton, a young girl around the age of 15, with chocolate brown hair which cascaded into soft curls down her back, and amber eyes which clearly defined her emotions, sighed hopelessly, her hands tightening. "That means we won't have money to support all three of us," she murmured softly.

"Alisa…" her mother half-heartedly sighed, but she silently agreed, they barely had any money, they don't even have much. How can they pay back the debts, and they can't support Alisa's 'needs' – schooling fees, sport fees etc.

Harold was quiet as he stared at his family. He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts – ready to put them into words – and which those words will separate his one and only child away,. In simpler terms, he is ready to abandon Alisa for the sake of saving up money to support only his wife, Marissa and himself (and the debts). "As you can see, we don't have money to support all," he began, a serious look in his brown eyes, "Alisa."

"Yes, Father?" Alisa spoke, waiting for his words.

"I'm sorry," Harold apologised, but his eyes didn't agreed what had just came out of his mouth, "You'll be sent to Satellite."

Alisa gasped, as her world shattered into a million pieces. No…No… Her parents are just going to abandon her just like that? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother nodding, agreeing what Harold had said – it made perfect sense. But being sent to Satellite – a dangerous place where criminals and gangs lurked, it seemed like suicide to her. Alisa slowly closed her mouth, swallow back the tears that were threatening to fall, as well as the screams of complaints and unwillingness.

Alisa lowered her head, and replied in a monotonous voice, "I understand." Deep inside, her heart shattered to million pieces.
Just only two words in her response, changed her life forever.

"Good," answered Harold Lawton. Marissa Lawton slightly nodded her head in approval. Alisa's eyes widened, 'Don't they care at all?' she thought, 'Do they even care about me – sending me to a dangerous place like Satellite which I could die in! Ah…they only care about themselves.'

The sound of waves in the port deafened Alisa's ears as she continued to stare at the ground. What's so interesting about it, she did not know. Her eyes narrowed to her parents, whose faces were perfectly blank, not showing a hint of emotion even as she boarded the ship which only transported rubbish from New Domino City to Satellite. Alisa carefully leaned on the ship's balcony, watching her parents carefully, having a perfect view.

"Looks like we finally have Alisa off our hands," Harold commented, his voice showing no hints of regret and sadness.

"Yes, dear," Marissa agreed, nodding.

Unknown to them, Alisa heard every word. Her eyes widened with rage, as she stared at her parents. Their eyes met hers. Their eyes didn't show any sign of remorse as they coolly returned the gaze.

"This ship is now leaving for Satellite to throw out trash for the Satellite SCUMS to sort."

Alisa stared hopelessly at her parents, having a strong desire to scream, to beg for them just to take her back, hoping against hope that they would show at least a speck of sympathy or regret. But there was none. Alisa swallowed back her tears, and ignored the loud sound that signalled that the ship will leave for Satellite.

Harold and Marissa turned around, as soon as the ship began to travel across the water. "No! Mum! Dad!" she whispered, her heart once again shattered in agony and despair. Soon, the two figures were nothing more than two tiny shapes in the far distance. Alisa slumped against the rail, her arms dangling useless, and sobbed. Tears that she had been holding it since the 'news' had been broken out to her, managed to break through all her efforts not to cry. She sniffed, as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks, sliding down her chin, and dropped to whereabouts unknown.

She looked to the ocean, its vast, mixed colours of green, blue and purple water rolled gently over, as small waves of water hit the ship. Alisa sighed, tears still rolling down, never seem to be stopping.

She looked to the island of New Domino City, where her parents are – where the riches dwell, and look down on the people of Satellite. "I hate you," Alisa uttered softly, her lips barely moving, and her amber eyes glassy, with tears trickling down, "Mother…Father…"

Her amber eyes which once held such strong intensity and brightness had dulled. It lost all it's faith and love – just like the feelings with Alisa towards her parents. Bending down slightly, she saw her reflection in the wavering water. The reflection stared back with hollow eyes. The eyes looked so empty…so lost of hope, so dull and lifeless...

Satellite. Alisa stared with horror as the ship anchored in this place known as 'Satellite's Port.' Gulping, she stepped her way down the ship.

"Oi, Girly!" a deep voice growled. Alisa jumped with fright, her heart beating like a drum, as she turned around to face the Captain of the Ship. He chewed on the butt of his unlit cigarette as he peered down on the girl. 'What on Earth is she doing here? Who wants to come to Satellite on some ship that carried rubbish? Pah! Those parents of hers must be so proud, "begging" me to take their daughter to Satellite, free of charge,' he thought with mild distaste, which showed on his face.

"Um…Sir?" Alisa spoke, twisting her foot around, feeling awkward.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that," the Captain said, "Dunno why on Earth ya here in Satellite."

"Ah…err…um…"

"Yea, yea. Anyway, girly. You better keep a good eye on yourself. Satellite ain't a good place, ya know. Lotsa dangerous people, and duel gangs. Ain't pretty. Might help if ya a good duelist. Not ta mention a good deck. Ya hear me?"

"Yes…" Alisa nodded.

"Humph," he snorted, "Good luck to ya. Ya will need it."

Alisa slowly nodded her thanks, and walked off. She glanced at her duel disk on her left arm, and her deck case which was attacked to her belt. Her attire consisted of dark blue jeans, a tank top, and a black trench coat, which had a few buttons fastened. Her short, leather boots stepped softly, barely making a sound as she walked wherever her feet led to. Her hair was tied into a slightly loose ponytail, with bangs dangling down, just below her chin. Her appearance is considered as simple, compared to her rather "fancy wear" back in…New Domino City.

'Ah…Where am I?' Alisa thought as she examined her surroundings. As expected, the area looked rundown, with trash and other sorts of…debris were piled up together. The place obviously dilapidated, with no one to maintain it overtime. Alisa kept on staring at her surroundings, fascinated but yet appalled at the same time. 'Look at the people in New Domino, taking everything for granted…and look here on the Satellite,' Alisa thought, as her dull eyes continued to sweep over the area, taking in every detail.

"Look here boys, look what we've found," a man's voice jeered, dripping with venom and nastiness. Alisa automatically spun around, to meet 3 pairs of squinty, mean eyes that belonged to 3 large men, who were currently sneering at me. She gasped with fear. The leader of this small group, stepped forward – the one who had spoken.

"A tiny mouse, Boss!" the one behind the Leader growled. Alisa shrank back even further, her eyes widening with fear. Never before had she encountered something like 'this.'

"She afraid, Boss!" the 3rd one laughed cruelly, Alisa took a step back, her heart beating like a drum once again.

"Never seen you around here before, Girly," the 'Boss' jeered as he peered at her through his mean eyes, "New to Satellite? Ha!" He erupted into a loud laughter, his criminal mark winking evilly as the dim light hit his face. The 2 men behind him also fell into laughter.

Alisa gulped and took another step back.

"How about you come with us?" the leader jeered, as soon as his laughter stopped, he reached out a meaty hand ready to grasp onto my arm.

"NO!" Alisa shrieked, and swung her left arm, her duel disk hitting the outstretched hand.

He grunted in pain, and curled his fingers to his palm, his eyes looked mad and full of spite, "Is that how you treat someone's whose welcoming you to Satellite! You got a lot of nerves, Girly!" He slammed his fist onto Alisa shoulder, causing her to cry out with pain, and to stagger back, and she fell down on the cracked pavement. She whimpered in pain, clutching her shoulder.

One of the men behind their leader threw a small but sharp rock – obvious aiming for Alisa's face. It scraped her cheek, causing a red line to appear, with blood slowing appearing and forming on the edges.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" The 3 men erupted into another harsh and cruel laughter. They snickered and sneered as they saw blood slowly falling onto her cheek, Alisa slowly touched her face with her fingers, her eyes widened in horror, and fear as she felt something wet on her cheek. She stared at her fingers. Blood. 'Is Satellite really that cruel?' she thought, and despair began to show on her face. Her mind screamed at her to run, but she couldn't. Her body was frozen, refusing to move, even when she screamed silently for her legs to work and run away. But she couldn't. She was too terrified.

The 3 men began to lumber towards her, swaggering in their steps. They smiled in glee, their criminal markers winking again as they sneered in delight, as they saw pure fear in Alisa's face. Alisa screwed her eyes shut, hoping and praying for someone to help.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" some bellowed, from obviously behind the 3 men. Alisa opened her eyes. The person who had spoken marched in front of Alisa, and faced them defiantly, his pale golden eyes flashing in anger as he swept in the situation, analysing what's happening.

"O-Oh, Kalin!" The Leader stuttered, and gave what it seemed like a charming smile, but failed horribly, "We were welcoming this girly- I mean, girl to Satellite. Y-you see, she's –"

"Shut it," the teenage boy snarled, his golden eyes glaring at the men, who cowered behind their Boss. "This is The Enforcers' turf now. Get lost. Now!"

"Eek!" the bullies screamed, rather high-pitched which sounded like a cat scratching its' claws on a blackboard.

Kalin sighed and muttered something related to 'Bullies and Trespassing,' before turning to Alisa. The angry spark in his eyes was gone as he stared, feeling worried for the timid girl, who had her arms wrapped around herself, trembling.

"Hey," he said in a gentle tone as he bent down to touch Alisa, "Are you alright?" She didn't answer. "I never seen you around in Satellite before," he continued as he gave the girl a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "You came from New Domino? Oh, that's awesome! But if you came from somewhere like New Domino , then why did you come to Satellite then?"

Horror struck through Alisa, her heart felt liked ripping into shreds again as she replayed the scenes in her head. She slight raised her head, and her dull amber eyes met Kalin's curious dancing, pale golden orbs. His face broke into a grin as he saw her face, but then fell into a frown as he noticed her bleeding cheek.

"Your bleeding!" he gasped as he touched the red, bleeding line carefully. Her eyes followed his movements warily. 'Who is this boy…?' Alisa thought, 'Why is he so kind to a stranger…?'

"Hey, are you alright?" Kalin asked, "You don't look too good." Alisa was silent as she stood up slowly, her knees felt like they were going to fall off any second, but she managed to walk a few metres, before Kalin snapped out of his surprise and managed to grab her shoulder and turning her around. "H-hey! Why did you go off like that!" he demanded as he spun her around, and gasped. "Are you alright? Why are you crying?"

Alisa stared at him with her dull, amber eyes which one had shone so bright, that they seemed like polished gems instead. Tears fell down her cheeks silently, and more followed. 'Why am I crying?' she thought, numbly. Something soft and welcoming dabbed at her cheeks, wiping away her tears. She gasped in surprise as she saw Kalin wiping away the tears gently with a white handkerchief.

"Ouch, that looks painful," Kalin muttered, as he eyed the bleeding scar, "I take you to Martha, where the rest are! Martha will take care of your injuries!"

Alisa gazed up at him, silently, her dull eyes watching Kalin, as if she was an owl. "Why are you so kind to me?" she whispered softly, her voice cracking.

"Eh?" Kalin looked dumbfounded, then his face broke into a grin, as he rubbed the back of his head, "Well… You're a friend, aren't you?"

"Friend…?" Alisa repeated.

"Friends! Yup!" Kalin smiled, his eyes brightening, and happy.

"What is a 'Friend'?" Alisa asked, in a soft, quiet tone, though her voice cracked again, "I never had one before…"

"What!" Kalin gasped, and Alisa shrank back ever more, "Uh…I know! What about your parents? They're like your closest, and best friends you could ever have! Well…even though, they're family..."

Alisa's eyes dulled, and her eyes filled up with new tears again as she thought of what happened before she left New Domino, "I was sent to Satellite because of my parents," she explained, casting her eyes down, "They abandoned me, because they cared more about themselves instead of their only child. The company got bankrupt…and Dad decided to send me to Satellite. My parents doesn't care about me, they never did…always putting themselves first, instead of anything else." Alisa buried my face in her hands, sobbing.

Kalin shifted his foot, feeling awkward. The only girls, and woman that he was around to were Martha, the kids at the orphanage, and...maybe Jack. He wouldn't be surprised, if Jack would be a girl, or at least inwardlys. The way Jack spends 3 hours in front of the mirror, doing his hair, it rivals the way how 'girly girls' spend their time brushing their hair and deciding whether their hair looks better in a ponytail or a braid. Completely ludicrous. Stupid Jack.
Martha hardly cried, she frets and worries, but she is a strong, determined woman. The young girls at the orphanage only cries when they don't get new cards from…mainly Crow. They whinge and put on their best puppy-eyes till Crow's soft side (for cute things) give in.

Whereas on the other hand, this girl whom he had just met, who is around his age, is crying because her parents abandoned her. It could be the cruellest thing anyone can do – abandoning their children in a dangerous place –like they expect her to die here in Satellite. Kalin swallowed, and knelt down beside the girl, and rather awkwardly, placed his arms around her. She stiffened slightly, and relaxed.

"What's your name?" he asked. She sniffed and wiped her face with the hankie, and mumbled, "Alisa. Alisa…Lawton." She stared at Kalin curiously and tilted her head, her brown hair tumbling to her shoulders, slightly free from her ponytail. "And you?"

"Kalin!" he answered, with a grin, "Kalin Kessler!" Alisa managed a smile at the enthusiastic boy. "Now, let's go to Martha's! Man, I wonder what Martha will say seeing how I told her I just went for a walk…Oops…Hehe!~" He smiled as he reached out an arm, and extended out his hand. Alisa stared at the hand, with a mixture of doubt, happiness, and sadness. Never before, someone had lent a hand to her – not even her parents. But looking at this boy – Kalin, made something warm and fuzzy go through. She hesitated, and slowly reached out, with her fingers trembling, to take his. Her fingers felt warm and tingled as she placed them on his palm. Kalin's smile broadened, and smiled. "Let's go to Martha, then!" And hauled her up, carefully and gently.

"Ah!" Alisa cried out, as she felt a twisting pain in her ankle, and fell into Kalin's back, nearly knocking him over. "I'm sorry!" she blurted out, her face flushing. She winced as she stood up, tightening her lips before any cry of pain could escape through her lips.

Kalin blinked at knelt down to see her ankle, which he took of her boot to see the large red lump forming on her ankle. "Oh dear," he muttered, "Looks like you twisted it when that ugly brute pushed you."

"Sorry to be a bother," Alisa muttered, lowering her head.

"Nah, it's not your fault!" Kalin gave her a reassuring smile again, "I'm going to carry you! Hope you don't weigh so heavy like Yusei – seriously he should lay off the egg-wiches!" He snorted as he replayed the memory of Crow, Jack, Yusei and himself having a 'Who can eat the most egg-wiches' contest.

"Yusei?" Alisa cocked her head, in confusion, "Is he your friend?"

Kalin nodded, and smiled. In a swift, fluid movement, he swept Alisa into his arms, ignoring her yelps of shock. "H-hey! Let me down! I can walk!" She stammered, a huge blush forming at her cheeks, her heart beating crazily like a drum. Kalin laughed heartily, "If I did, you'll he hopping to Martha's! That will consume too much time. Besides, you're not that heavy." Alisa's grip on Kalin's vest tightened as he continued walking. "Relax, you're not going to drop to the ground. If I did drop you, then you'll get to punch me for a month. Just make sure my buddies, Crow or Jack doesn't give a hand." He grimaced at the thought. Alisa only nodded quietly, the blush still lingering on her cheeks.

"OI, MARTHA! OPEN UP, PLEASE! I HAVE MY HANDS FULL!"

Martha sighed as she walked into the lounge, where Yusei, Crow and Jack were playing cards. "He doesn't have to kick the door that hard," she muttered, shooting Crow and Jack a glare as they chuckled loudly.

"Is he going to get an 'earful', Martha?" Jack asked cheekily with a smirk. Yusei twisted his lips into a smirk, Martha's 'earful' takes 'awhile' – not to mention the roof blasting off the house.

Martha sniffed. "Unless he got a good reason," she answered. Crow erupted into a loud laughter. She took a deep breath, and swung open the door, not even wincing as the door slammed into the wall. "KALIN KESSLER!" Martha roared, "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU! YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD GO AWAY FOR THIRTY MINUTES! NOT AN HOUR!" She blinked at the girl in Kalin's arms, who was shrinking back, with a fearful face. "Oh! What did you do, Kalin? Kidnap a girl! Shame!"

"Eh?" Crow gasped, his eyes popping out of his head, "Kalin kidnap a poor, helpless little girl! Oh, the shame!" Jack and Yusei snorted at his 'dramatic act'.

"Martha, are you going to move or not?" Kalin replied impatiently, not the least worried what Martha had bellowed at him, "This girl came from New Domino, and some brutes got her injured. Alisa got a still-bleeding scar on her cheek, and it's looks pretty deep. Not to mention some bruises when the bullies pushed her, and a twisted ankle, which explains the reason why I'm carrying her."

"Sorry, dear – Alisa, was it?" Martha said in a gentle tone, which was surprising, since Martha had just roared at Kalin, causing the Yusei, Jack and Crow to exchange glances. "Sorry about that little outburst, come in, and I'll treat your injuries."

"Finally," Kalin muttered under his breath. Fortunately, Martha didn't hear him. He stepped into the house, with Alisa still in his arms, and relished the warmth and comfort of the house.

Jack and Crow's jaws dropped as Kalin came into the lounge and gently placed the girl on the floor. They gawked at her, whilst Yusei stared with an eyebrow raised, and a questioning stare at Alisa. Alisa averted her eyes shyly, her bangs falling onto her eyes. She moved her left ankle slowly, and gave a wince as a sharp pain went through her ankle.

"My, my. That's a nasty cut you got there," Martha frowned as she gently prodded the cut on her cheek. Alisa shrank back, nervously, as the older woman examined her cut. "Need some antiseptic cream…" she muttered. "It's deep," Martha said as she frowned into Alisa's dull eyes, "How did this happen?"

"Some brute did something to her. Threw a rock at her or something," Kalin answered. "What a bully." He snorted.

"Ah, that explain a lot," Martha commented and then creased her forehead again. "Judging from your clothes, you look like someone from a good place. But why is a pretty face like you, doing in a dangerous place like Satellite?" Alisa averted her eyes, looking at Kalin, with a pleading look in her eyes.

"You want me to explain?" Kalin asked her, looking rather dubious. Alisa nodded. "Ok, guys. And Martha. You see, Alisa – Alisa Lawton's parents decided to send her to Satellite because their company got bankrupt or something. And I think they thought that Alisa would be a burden or something, right?" Alisa nodded, a miserable look in her eyes.

"And they sent her to Satellite, and then she got attacked by those 3 brutes. When I got there, the leader pushed her to the ground, I scared them off – they were trespassing, those idiots. But she got some injuries, and I carried her here…" Kalin explained.

"…wait…what?" Crow asked, looking confused as he stared at Alisa, then back at Kalin, "You mean…"

"THEY TRESPASSED? THAT TURF IS UNDER THE ENFORCERS'!" Jack roared.

"HEY, THAT WAS MY LINE!" Crow bellowed at Jack, "I'M GOING TO TEACHMTHAT BRUTE A LESSON!"

"THEY ABANDONED THEIR DAUGHTER!" Martha shouted, a furious fire flaming in her eyes.

"They threw her away, because they believed she would just be nothing but a burden," Yusei spoke quietly, "That's the worst thing, a parent could do to their child." His eyes darkened.

"Martha, M-Martha, calm down. Just get the first-aid kit for Alisa," Kalin said as Martha continued to rage, ranting about cruel parents, and children.

Martha blinked, and the anger washed away. "Thank you, Kalin." She nodded, and went off to get the kit.

As soon as Martha left the room, a smirk formed on Jack's face. "So Kalin," he smirked as he leaned back, "Playing the Knight for your Damsel of Distress, huh?" Kalin reddened slightly, "Shut up," he growled.

"Hey! What's your name?" Crow inquired as he knelt in front of Alisa, looking at her curiously.

"…A-Alisa Lawton," she answered quietly, her eyes never leaving the timber floors.

"Alisa, eh? Nice to meet ya! I'm Crow Hogan! Also known as Crow the Bullet, cause no one can match up to my speed!" He jerked his thumb at himself, and Alisa raised her head to stare at him, returning his grin with a shaky smile.

"Bullet, my foot," the blond boy, Jack snorted, "More like a giant pig rolling in the mud."

"That's you, Jack!" Crow snapped, the criminal mark on his forehead flashed as it hit the light. Alisa's eyes travelled to the 'M shape' criminal mark, before averting her eyes to Jack.

"Humph," Jack picked up his cards and shuffled them, "I'm Jack Atlas." He nodded to Alisa, "Your from New Domino? Must be nice living there." Alisa cringed and shook her head as a response. He raised an eyebrow, and shrugged carelessly, "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Yusei Fudo," the boy with the 'unique' hairstyle that strangely resembles a crab, with yellow streaks. "Nice to meet you." He gave Alisa a smile, "We won't hurt you. We're not bullies or thugs, if that's what your thinking."

Alisa relaxed and smiled as cheerfully as she could, "It's nice to meet you too."

"Getting to know each other, huh!" Martha laughed, "That's great! Now Alisa dear, put this ice-pack on sprain. Reduces the swelling." Alisa nodded and wriggled off her boot and sock as carefully as she could, and sighed with relief as the ice made contact with the sprain.

Martha began wiping the blood of my cheek with a wet tissue, she frowned and pursed her lips when she saw the scar hasn't stopped bleed. Alisa tried not to wince in pain when the antiseptic cream was dabbed onto the scar, stinging slightly. "It's not that bad," Martha nodded in approval, "It would be healed completely in some time."

"Thank you," Alisa smiled gratefully, albeit rather shyly, "I really appreciate it."

To her surprise, Martha smiled in a motherly way that made Alisa remember Marissa Lawton – her biological mother. Strangely, Marissa only cared about her husband, her appearance and money. Martha beamed at Alisa and laughed. "You 3 can learn from Alisa, she has good manners! Unlike you, Crow."

"Hey!" Crow yelled, "M-My manners are perfectly fine, thank you very much!"

"Whose the lucky duck that has good manners and doesn't need to learn off Alisa?" Jack asked, a bit sourly.

Martha grinned, "Yusei, of course! Jack, sometimes you think you're the King of the World, and you don't need to say a mere 'Thank You!'" Ignoring Jack's spluttering and flabbergasted look, she turned to Crow and Kalin who were snickering, "And you two! Crow and Kalin! You two can don't even have decent table manners! I don't think we appreciate bits of food flying out of your mouths."

"H-Hey!" Kalin laughed, "I was just hungry you know, and Jack was making me laugh because some fat went onto his beloved hair, much thanks to Crow!"

"That was on purpose, Crow! I had spend six hours to get it out of my hair!" Jack yelled angrily at Crow who merely shrugged with a grin.

"No it wasn't," Crow smirked, "It was by complete accident, thank you very much!" Jack snorted.

"And Yusei…" Kalin added, rather mischievously, "Likes to wolf down his egg-wiches, when you're not looking Martha."

Yusei merely shrugged with a grin, "I was starving you know."

Martha raised an eyebrow at this and chuckled, "Don't learn from them, Alisa." She winked and left. Alisa looked at the group of the four teenagers bickering and fighting over the littlest things, ranging from hair, food, hair gel, sleeping, hogging the mirror, duel disks, appearance, awesomeness and much more ridiculous things. Alisa smiled and giggled as she continue to watch them fighting.

'They're not stopping,' she thought with a giggle, her dull amber eyes twinkled for a second, resuming to it's former gem-like eyes. But only briefly. 'Funny, they're like a family – fighting, but I can feel the love and friendship between them all,' she thought, her stomach twisting, in an unpleasant way as she thought of Harold and Marissa Lawton. Even Martha who she known for only an hour feels more of a Mother, than Marissa Lawton whom she knew ever since she was born.

"WILL ALL OF YOU STOP FIGHTING? I'M TRYING TO COOK DINNER HERE! AND IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO CUT CARROTS, WITH THE FOUR OF YOU FIGHTING AND BICKERING CAUSING THE ROOF TO BLOW UP!" Martha roared angrily from the kitchen.

Jack, Crow, Yusei and Kalin froze and stopped, "HE STARTED IT!"they yelled and pointed at each other using both hands to point.

"…SHUT UP! OTHERWISE I'LL HAVE YOU WEARING FRILLY APRONS AND CLEANING THE TOILETS FOR ONE MONTH!"

"Yes, Martha!" they squeaked, and quickly sat down, with their backs straight, and their hands folded, onto their laps, with matching fearful faces pasted on their faces.

"Ah…much better…" Martha sighed with relief, from the kitchen.

Alisa laughed at the four boys, having identical expressions and positions, she couldn't help it as her shoulders shook uncontrollably, with tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks, as she continued to giggle as the boys shot her 'Shut-up-or-else-Martha-will-come-and-US-all' faces. She only continued to giggle at their expressions – identical ones too.

There was a sigh, and they froze again.

"A girl laughing is much better than four idiotic boys fighting over the most ridiculous things, anytime," Martha sighed loudly.

The four boys groaned and fell face-first to the timber floor. "Martha…she spoils girls too much," Crow groaned.

"Well, what do you expect?" Jack snapped, his voice rather muffled (from being face planted on the floor), "Girls! They stick by each other and talk about hair, and the latest gossip, they're so difficult to understand! Sheesh! How troublesome!"

"Talk about yourself," Kalin muttered, with Yusei agreeing with him. 'Jack has this fetish with his hair,' Yusei thought sourly, 'So annoying especially when he's in the bathroom.'

"JACK ATLAS!"

"…nothing, Martha!"

Alisa erupted into laugher again, new tears streaming down her cheeks as she giggled. One by one, the boys joined in, laughing uncontrollably. Though Jack joined in, because he thought that the others laughing uncontrollably was an amusing sight to him.

Martha sighed, and smiled at the sight of the five teenagers laughing together. "It's good to be young," she laughed, and resumed back to cooking.

Alisa rolled over to her stomach, and gazed at the starry, night sky, with a peaceful smile hovering upon her lips. She felt safe, happy and warm, as if she was in a sanctuary. Martha was kind and caring to her, even though she can be a bit 'tempered' when people (mainly Crow and Jack) annoy her. The kids in the orphanage took a liking to her, and began idolising her as an elder sister, for apparently no reason at all. They tugged on her hands, begged to look after them and read bedtime stories to them. Alisa found this cute, and she enjoyed taking care of kids, seeing them as younger siblings, giving a warm, fluttery feeling in her heart. Yusei, Jack, Crow and Kalin were her first friends she ever had, they made her laugh when they bicker over the most absurd things, ranging from hair to food and much more.

"I never felt like this before, even back in New Domino where I was surrounded by luxuries," Alisa whispered. She stared at the sky – the same sky that she had always looked up at, when she was in New Domino. Even though, Satellite was a dangerous place, in this cosy house (aka Martha's place), she felt warmth, love and acceptance – something she had never felt in New Domino, especially around her parents.

Alisa closed her eyes and whispered, "I love it here."

"So, Martha, do you need help with anything?" Alisa asked.

Martha nodded, "Yes, please wash the dishes." Alisa nodded in response and began collecting the dirty dishes from the table, before heading into the kitchen.

As soon as Alisa stepped out of the dining room, Martha turned abruptly to the four teenagers. "You ought to learn from Alisa!" Martha hissed, though her eyes were filled with amusement, "She only been here for a day! And she's helping out with the chores already! Whereas YOU! Lazing around, and eating to your heart's content!"

Crow flapped his hand, "Chill, Martha, Chill. Have you been surviving on just water and bread the past few days? Of course not! We should always grab the chance whenever there's free food that's delicious!"

Jack snorted as he 'elegantly' sipped his cup of tea, with his pinky pointing in the air, "As a matter of fact, Crow, we weren't surviving on just water and bread! I seem to recall – "

"Shh!" Crow hissed as he kicked Jack's ankle under the table.

"Sorry about this, Martha," Yusei said, ignoring the loud munching loud from Kalin as he crunched on his toast, "They're just hungry. We had been planning and practicing our dueling skills for the next turf battle."

Martha raised and eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised?" she inquired under her breath. Crow flashed her a cheeky smile, whereas Jack gave a smirk.

Yusei sighed. Somehow, he felt like the only responsible one in The Enforcers…only when it came to manners and being 'civilised'. "I'll help with the dishes," he stated, and picked up the dishes in front of him, and left for the kitchen.

Martha nodded in approval. "Jack, Crow and Kalin, I expect you to clean the toilets and sweep the floor when you're done." She shot them a look when they opened their mouths to argue, "Don't waste your breath." The three of them sighed.

"Crow, you clean the toilets, and Kalin you sweep the floor," Jack declared, as he placed his teacup on the small plate.

Crow and Kalin both shot daggers at him. "How about, you, Jack, clean the toilets, and Kalin and I sweep the floor. After all, there's more 'floors' than toilets," Crow smirked.

"That's settled then," Kalin declared, "No arguments, gentlemen! There's some nice filly, pink aprons that you can wear, Jackie!" Crow and Kalin stood, up and collected the dishes to be washed, satisfied smiles pasted on their faces.

Jack spluttered, his eyes ready to pop out of his head, "H-hey! That's not fair!" He cursed under his breath, as they ignored him. "How dare they!" Jack sniffed, indignantly, "Me? The Jack Atlas cleaning toilets! With a pink, frilly apron?" He huffed in annoyance.

Alisa tilted her head in confusion as Kalin and Crow waltzed into the kitchen, placing the dirty dishes on the counter to be washed, as they hooted with laughter. She exchanged glances with Yusei, who had a knowing expression in his eyes.

"What happened?" Yusei inquired.

Kalin and Crow gave each other a high-five, grinning, before turning to Alisa and Yusei. "Let's just say," Kalin began, with a mischievous grin.

"That we bullied Jack into cleaning the toilets, and allowing us to do the honours of sweeping the floor," Crow finished, his expression identical to Kalin's.

"It's possible that he might wear a pink, frilly apron," Kalin added. Yusei and Alisa burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs, as tears sprang into their eyes at the thought of The Jack Atlas cleaning the toilets, wearing a pink, frilly apron.

"I seem to recall there was a frilly apron Martha had brought," Yusei said slyly, as he eyes gleamed.

"Do we have to force him to wear it, though? Jack seems reluctant about cleaning the toilets, and wearing an apron seems more of a reason not to do it," Alisa said slowly.

Crow shook his head, "Your right about that, but Martha has some way of forcing him to do chores, whether he likes it or not. Besides, she expects us to wear aprons when we do chores. It's 'Rule Number 1' in the Chores Booklet." He winked slyly, "So you know what that means."

"Found it!" Yusei grinned, brimming with triumph. He whisked out a crumpled but pink and frilly apron, and tossed it to Crow.

"Perfect!" Kalin exclaimed, "A beautiful shade of pink…cute frills too… Oh! Look! It even has some pink, satin ribbons!"

"I think it will suit him," Alisa smiled as she closely examined the apron. She prodded the fabric with a finger. She snickered quietly, as she imagined Jack wearing this.

"Definitely," Yusei agreed.

"Well, let's get going!" Crow said, cheerfully, a smile still plastered on his face.

"I can barely wait," Alisa exclaimed.

Kalin smiled at her. "Alisa," he said cheerfully, "It's good to see you're happy and smiling!" He gave her a thumbs-up, and followed Crow.

"Eh?" Alisa looked confused, but Kalin had already left the room with Crow. "Yusei?" she asked, "Did you know what Kalin had meant?"

Yusei nodded, as he wiped the plate with a cloth, "He explained everything to us last night, how he met you and stuff. He said that he hadn't seen eyes so dead and lifeless when he saw you. It's like you just gave up on everything." He strained a grim smile, "Even the kids here, never seem to had suffered so much as you. They had someone to love and people supported them. Whereas…"

"Yes, I know," Alisa interrupted, smiling gently. "Don't worry, I'm happy with everyone here, now."

Yusei smiled, in relief, "That's good to hear."

"I, JACK ATLAS, WILL NEVER WEAR THAT HORRENDOUS THING, EVEN IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT!"

"Aw…Just when I, Crow Hogan went so much trouble to find this apron and give it to you to wear, I mean – it will totally suit you!"

"Jack. You're going to hurt Crow's feelings, as the leader of The Enforcers, I, command you to wear it with pride."

"…NO."

"JACK. HURRY UP AND WEAR THE APRON. Crow and Kalin went through so much trouble for you! Now, be grateful and wear it! NOW!"

"B-but, Martha – "

"No, 'buts', Jack! Haven't I taught you how to be grateful and accepts other people's gifts! Especially when they went so much trouble, for you!"

"M-Martha, I – "

"JACK! WEAR IT! NOW!"

Yusei and Alisa exchanged glances, with grins covering over their faces. "This will be a sight to see, let's go!" Yusei said, and hurried out of the kitchen. Alisa giggled and quickly followed him.

"HA!" Itsuki yelled, "I won the duel!"

Alisa laughed, a smile tugging at her lips. "Congratulations!"

Itsuki gave a 'V' (peace?) sign with his two fingers, beaming proudly as if he had won the title of 'Best Duelist in the World'. "I did it!" he beamed, bragging to anyone who was listening, which only happened to be his friend, Annie and Alisa. "I won!"

Annie snorted, poking her tongue out at Itsuki cheekily. "It was Alisa's first duel! She did really well! This was her first time, right?"

Alisa nodded, "I just collected some cards back then, nothing much," she said shyly, as she swept her cards on the table back into a pile.

Itsuki pouted, his brown hair flopping onto his forehead. "But I still won, right?"

Annie sighed, "Yea. But don't forget, the first time you duelled, you place a monster card on the field spell area. How stupid is that?"

"H-hey!" Itsuki yelled, "I-It was my first time! And I had no idea what to do!" He blushed in embarrassment and waved his hands as if he was trying to defend himself.

"Whereas, Alisa," Annie continued, ignoring Itsuki, "Played her cards on the right area, and even though it's her first time. Unlike Itsuki who kept on messing the structure up. Spell cards in monster fields, monster in spell fields, and so on. He kept on doing that for the next duels he had after that."

"S-shut up!" Itsuki was now a tomato face. "It was only an accident."

Annie snorted. "Yea right." Alisa sweat-dropped at the two kids arguing, 'They're just like siblings,' she thought, as a smile danced onto her lips.

"Alisa!" Martha called, "Can you come to the kitchen right now, please?"

"Yup, coming!" Alisa replied. She quickly grabbed her deck, and shoved it into her deck holster. "Itsuki, I duel you later, ok?" she smiled at him. He grinned in reply, his eyes sparkling in excitement with the prospect of the promised duel.

"Later, Alisa!" Annie and Itsuki chorused. Alisa nodded, and went to Martha, who was holding a basket in the kitchen.

"Is there something wrong, Martha?" Alisa enquired.

Martha nodded and handed her the basket, "These are for the boys. Jack, Crow, Yusei and Kalin. They should be in their main turf – hideout, whatever they call it. They're going to faint if they miss out on this lunch, considering they dashed out of the house, without eating breakfast, muttering about taking over turfs." She sighed, "Boys." She shook her head, and handed the basket to Alisa, "Make sure they eat too."

"Thank you," Alisa said, as she glanced at the covered basket in her hands, "But…how do I get to their hideout?"

"Here are the directions to their hideout," Martha handed her a slip of paper, "Don't worry about duel gangs or anything, because it's still broad daylight, and Sector Security are patrolling about. Besides, if anything bad happens to you, scream as loud as you can." Seeing Alisa's doubtful expression, "Don't worry! Annie and Itsuki sometimes deliver their lunches to them. They haven't got in trouble…apart from the time when Itsuki ate an amount of food on his way there." Alisa giggled, 'That sounds that Itsuki for sure,' she thought.

"Alright, Martha. I'll go right away," Alisa smiled, and turned to leave.

"Oh, and, Alisa?" Martha called.

"Yea?"

"It's going to get dark soon. So stay with the boys still they come home, ok?"

"Ok. Don't worry, Martha!"

"Thank you."

"So, I should turn left…" Alisa mumbled, "And I should be there…" She nodded a friendly greeting to a nearby Sector Security Officer.

"Good evening, Sir," she said politely as he stalked past her.

He eyed her suspiciously, and raised an eyebrow. "Evening," he replied, and paused for a second, "Funny that. You have good manners, many Satellites don't even have a speck of manners." He snorted in disgust.

"Uh…Thank you," Alisa said, feeling slightly uncertain.

He smiled, and nodded, "Don't hang around too late, just to be on the safe side. You'll never know," he said darkly, as a frown etched onto his face, "If there's any trouble, run away to the nearest safe place you can find, and scream – maybe we can hear you."

"Thank you, Sir. I'll keep that in mind," Alisa replied. The Officer nodded again, and stalked off. 'Good to see that they do patrol the areas,' she thought, and resumed back to the directions. "Ah…I should turn left…"

Immediately, she stopped in her tracks and stared at the building in front of her. Her mouth fell open. The building was huge. Even though it was crumbling and broken at many places, it still looks overwhelming, albeit a pale shadow of its former glory. "I wonder what it was like many years ago," Alisa murmured. She avoided the debris that laid around the building, and stumbled over to a door.

"Hello?" she squeaked out nervously, after rapping her knuckles on the rotten-timbered door.

"Whose there?" a voice boomed angrily. Alisa squeaked in fright, 'I went to the wrong hideout!' she thought, panicking.

"Relax Crow, it's probably Itsuki bringing lunch or something. Martha always sends him over before nightfall. But she mentioned to us that lunch will come later than usual." a voice said, which sounded like Jack's.

"Huh. Martha said something about baking more bread, or something," someone commented. 'Yusei?' Alisa thought, 'This is really The Enforcers' hideout! Wow!'

"I hope the kids aren't bothering her or anything."

"Chill, Kalin. Martha has Alisa. And the kids adore her. C'mon! They see her like a big sister! Annie was telling me this morning, when Alisa was helping Martha with the washing, that Alisa always plays with her and tell her bedtime stories before they go to sleep! That's better than you, Jack. You always refuse to tell bedtime stories to the kids, and having your own beauty sleep. Huh! That's stupid!"

"Shut up, Crow! Annie and Alisa are girls, so obviously – "

"Not true. Itsuki and the other kids – both boys and girls practically flock to Alisa's side, pulling her arms, whinging for her to play with them. When I offered to play with them, to save Alisa's arms being ripped off – I mean! You should have seen her face! They were pulling so hard! Anyway, back to the story, when I offered to – "

"Heard that already."

"Shut up, Jack. So yea. And they were all like 'NO! Crow's no fun!' Humph! Those little twerps."

"Sucked in Crow."

"Shut up, Yusei."

"Well, Alisa's a really nice girl. She helps out with Martha, and takes care of everyone. And she looks happier too, her eyes tells the story." Alisa leaned closer to the door, 'That's Kalin voice,' she thought, looking rather confused. "I remember when I first saw her, her eyes, looked so dead, like she just given up hope and faith in everything."

"Yea, I remember that. When she first saw us, she was cowering back – looks like she frightened of us, well, it's probably just Jack."

"CROW!"

"Jack, Crow, don't even bother arguing. Kalin, continue on."

"Yea, and now, she's always laughing and smiling. Her eyes are sparkling, so happy, you know what I mean."

"They're kind of unique, you know. Not as much as my amethyst eyes. Her eyes are amber, not red, not orange…hints of those colours."

"Her eyes are much more unique and prettier that yours, Jack."

"I second that."

"It gets boring staring at Jack's eyes. Especially his face."

"I agree."

"GUYS!"

"Shut up, Jack."

"They define her emotions clearly as well, don't they?"

"Yea."

"Say, Kalin?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Do you like Alisa or something? You've been rambling about her for quite awhile now, ever since you met her."

"…" A big silence fell onto them. Alisa leaned back, her arms tightening around the basket, her face blushing furiously. She ducked her face down, and her eyes widened with realisation. 'It's getting dark,' she thought, her blush fading away, 'I'd been standing here for awhile now…' She lifted her hand and knocked sharply on the door.

"…Look like we've been chattering too much, and we got carried away… I wonder how long he'd been standing there outside," Kalin sighed, but there was relief heard in his voice.

"Kalin, stop running away from the question," Jack said, ignoring what he'd said.

"Oh boy, if Itsuki heard that, he probably tell Alisa," Crow muttered, "Doesn't sound good."

"He probably just came," Yusei replied, sounding calm, "Kalin, you're the closest to the door."

Kalin sighed heavily, "Yea, yea. Since you're all being fat and lazy. Humph." Footsteps clattered loudly on the ground and the door swung open, banging Alia. She stumbled backwards, as the door hit her on the arm, where it had been clutching the basket.

Kalin's eyes widened. "Alisa! Are you alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine," Alisa smiled reassuringly, "Just hit my arm, shouldn't had been standing too close to knock."

Jack shot upright as he heard her voice, and his eyes narrowed to Crow and Yusei. "What if Alisa heard Jack!" Crow whispered loudly, his eyes darting from Alisa, Kalin and Jack and back.

"Shut up, Crow," Yusei and Jack hissed, "She might hear you!"

"Martha told me to bring you guys this," Alisa smiled as she held up the basket, "May I come in?"

"Sure!" Kalin stepped back, "Watch your footing, though?"

"What do you mean?" Alisa asked, as she stepped into the hideout, but her eyes weren't fixed on the ground like what Kalin had warned, her eyes were examining the room in wonder and bright interest. "Oh – Oof!" Her foot connected with a crack in the steps, causing her to lose her balance, and her arms automatically shot up, throwing the basket of food into the air, and she felt herself falling forward.

"THE FOOOOOOOOOD!" Crow howled, and jumped for basket, which had miraculously landed in his arms. "Ahh," he sighed in relief, "If the goodies are ruined, then my stomach is doomed!"

On the other hand, Alisa and Kalin weren't so lucky. "Ouch…" Alisa groaned softly as her head collided with the floor, and her knees scraped the rocky floor. "Oof…" Kalin muttered at the same time, lying on his back, a weight on his stomach.

"Oh…" Jack's eyes bulged out of his sockets.

"…My…" Yusei continued, as his expression imitated Jack's, as his mouth fell open in shock.

"…Gosh," Crow finished up, his jaws dropping to the ground, his eyes ready to fall out of their sockets.

Their eyes were glued to one scene, Alisa was on Kalin's stomach, though her head and legs were on the rough, rocky floor, explaining her small injuries. Kalin was lying on the floor, being Alisa's cushion, which kind of prevented her from more injuries.

[A/N: Sorry I can't explain it well, but imagine this. Kalin lying horizontally on the floor, and Alisa lying face-down on the floor (vertically) and she's on Kalin, but her knees are head are on the floor, so her abdomen is the only thing on Kalin. So it kind of makes a plus - " + " sign. Weird. Sorry I can't explain well. == ]

"Ouch…" Alisa mumbled, her hand clutching her forehead, which had banged onto the floor during her fall, she fell back onto her knees, rubbing her forehead, ignoring the throbbing on her knees. Her eyes snapped open in shock as she saw Kalin lying down, looking dumbfounded and shocked.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped, as realisation struck her, "Are you alright, Kalin?"

Kalin pulled himself into a sitting position, and flashed a reassuring grin at Alisa, "I'm fine, no harm done!" his eyes narrowed to her scraped knees, which were now bleeding slightly, "You're hurt!" he gasped.

"Huh?" Alisa looked confused, as she rubbed her forehead, "It's just my forehead that hurts, when I fell onto the floor, and hit my head…" she looked down at her knees, "Oh…"

"Stupid floors," Kalin muttered angrily, as he hauled himself up. Slowly and carefully, Alisa stood up, feeling a bit shaky in the knees, and a dull throbbing on her head, but other than that, she felt fine.

"I'm fine," She said, not wanting to worry the older boy, "No need to worry! But…is the basket alright?" She averted her gaze to where Jack, Crow and Yusei are. Her eyes fell onto the basket which Crow was clutching as his life depended on it. She relaxed, relieved that the food weren't ruined.

"Eh?" Her face suddenly became confused at the faces of the three boys, whose jaws where hitting the floor and their eyes still popping out of their heads. Her gaze averted to Kalin, who had turned his face away, and had a red tinge across his cheeks. 'Why is he blushing?' she thought, completely puzzled. She just fell…on Kalin…well a part of him. "Oh," she said, her eyes widening in realisation.

"Yea," Jack said, his jaws snapping back together, "That was…interesting…"

Alisa frowned, still feeling puzzled. "I still don't get it…"

Yusei coughed, and his expression went back to normal. Whereas Crow, still gaping like an idiot, and still hugging the basket to his chest.

Kalin muttered something about 'accidents and falling,' but his blush was still there. In fact, he was getting even redder.

"I just fell?" Alisa said, "And I landed on Kalin… Oh!" she turned to Kalin, concern flickering in her eyes, "Are you alright, Kalin? I must had been heavy, and your stomach…"

"No, no," Kalin shook his head, his blush slowly fading, "I'm fine. It's only you that got hurt." His eyes flickered to her forehead and scraped knees.

*Grooowl*

"Huh?" We turned to stare at who the sound came from…and it was Crow…his stomach, to be precise.

He grinned sheepishly, "Sorry guys. But the drama's over for now, and we can discuss this after we eat! I'm starving!"

"…"

"So," Jack said, propping his chin onto his palm, "What had happened?" He ignored the 'sounds' of Crow chomping away on his bread like a pig.

"Huh?" Alisa looked up from her bandaged knee, where she's had been examining.

"Yes, I agree with Jack," Crow said, with his mouth full and crumbs spitting out in all directions, much to Jack's annoyance.

"Stop that, Crow!" He yelled.

"What?"

"Stop talking with your mouth full! It's disgusting! See! Even Yusei is edging away from your disgusting manners!"

Yusei grinned at Jack, "Actually, Jack, I was 'edging away' from you and your loud voice. Ten years of experience of you bellowing in my ear isn't helping at all, in fact it's probably worsen my hearing."

Crow chortled, crumbs flying everywhere from his mouth. Jack huffed indignantly. Strangely, Kalin remained silent, and avoided Alisa's curious gaze.

"Back to the main point," Jack growled, and averted his gaze to Alisa and Crow. "So Kalin…Alisa…"

"I fell," Alisa interrupted, defending Kalin, she doesn't want him to be the centre of teasing, it wasn't his fault, "I tripped because there was a crack on the floor. Kalin was in the way when I fell, so he came down as well," Alisa winced, "It's my fault. I'm sorry about that."

Jack blinked, and shrugged. "Alright."

"Huh?"

He smiled, and beckoned me closer. Alisa looked puzzled but leaned forward. "You know," he whispered loudly – just enough for everyone else to hear, "Kalin li– "

"Shut up, Jack!" Kalin retorted, angrily, glaring at Jack furiously. Jack smirked. Alisa leaned back into her chair, at a loss.

"Huh?" She asked, looking at Yusei and Crow, for answers. But they only exchanged a private messages, and a wink from Crow, and a thumbs up Yusei. She sighed.

Kalin growled and glared at the 3 boys. He gave a shut-up-or-else-you'll-die look, which didn't have much of an effect, apart from their grins broadening.

"Umm…Should we go back to Martha's?" Alisa spoke up, wanting to break the heavy silence, "It's getting late, and she'll be worried."

Kalin nodded. "We should, otherwise Martha will punish us." He winced, and unconsciously rubbed his ear.

"Yea, we should," Jack agreed, "Otherwise…" He shivered and rubbed his arms, which Goosebumps had appeared, "Not nice."

"Well, let's get going," Yusei, said, pursing his lips tightly at the thought of an enraged Martha. And...if she's holding a frying, he can't guarantee that he'll survive.

Alisa nodded, feeling somewhat relieved, and picked up the basket, and followed the boys outside. Kalin trailed back, staring at Alisa's back as she walked outside. She turned around, "Kalin?" she called, "Something wrong?"

Kalin snapped out of his trance, and grinned. "Sorry, it was nothing. Just spaced out," he rubbed the back of his head, giving a sheepish grin, "I'm fine, sorry to make you worried."

Alisa nodded and smiled.

"GUYS! Hurry up, before it gets too late! Martha's gonna kill us!" Crow yelled. Kalin sighed and stalked outside after Alisa.

"We're back," Crow said loudly. Heads peeked out of a wall, large eyes widening with surprise.

"Kids!" Crow grinned, as they rushed out from their hiding back, their faces breaking into a large smile, "You missed me? Aw…" He held out his arms dramatically, ready for an embrace.

But the kids ignored him and rushed pass him. Crow's jaws dropped opened, "W-what?" he gasped, dumbfounded.

"ALISA!" they yelled, and tackled her to the ground. The Enforcers began to edge away from the poor teenager, as more kids came streaming out and throwing themselves at Alisa, wanting a hug.

"Oof!" she gasped, as the young children tackled her.

"Waah! We missed you!"

"You said that you'll come home soon!"

"Alisa, why did you have to leave!"

Alisa sweat-dropped, as the kids began bombing her with questions, and not bulging from their positions of surrounding her. Heck, even Itsuki had managed to cling onto her legs like a monkey.

"H-hey! Where's my hug?" Crow yelled.

The kids turned to stare at him, and stuck out their tongue. "Crow's no fun! You're a big meanie!"

"H-Hey!"

"The kids love Alisa more than you, Crow," Jack remarked.

"I truly feel sorry for her," Yusei mumbled. He stared with sympathy as the kids tugged oh Alisa's hands, and whining to her to play with them.

"Hey Kalin," Jack smirked, "Ready to save your Princess?"

"W-what?" Kalin spluttered, "You're insane!"

"Umm…guys!" Alisa yelped, as she felt her arms being tugged in different directions, wincing with pain, "Little help, please…?"

"A Princess always needs a Knight to save them from baddies," Yusei smirked.

"That's right," Crow nodded, "And Kalin is the Knight in shining armour."

"W-what? I'm not a knight or anything! And I certainly do not – "

"Stop denying it, Kalin," Jack interrupted, "We all know it."

"Know what?"

"Oh please," Crow rolled his eyes to heavens, "It's so obvious! We all know it! You've been talking non-stop about her! It's soo obvious!"

"And you're the Knight," Yusei chimed in, "And your Princess is currently being a Damsel in Distress."

"Guys! I really need help!"

"For the last time, I'm not a knight!" Kalin yelled.

The three smirked. "Knight or no Knight, Kalin, you go to save Alisa from the kids. Her arms looks ready to pop out of their sockets right now," Jack sighed.

"As much I love the affection from the kids, I can't help feeling sorry for her," Crow commented, as he stared at the ruckus with a I'm-so-glad-that-I'm-not-Alisa expression.

"Fine, Fine!" Kalin sighed. He turned to the children surrounding Alisa, "Hey! HEY!"

They stopped and twisted their heads to look at him. "Stop – "

"NOPE!" They chorused and resumed back to whinging to Alisa. Alisa groaned in despair, as they tugged at her back and forth, even to the sides where she felt like she's going to stumble and fall. Kalin face-palmed as his failed attempt. Behind him, Jack, Crow and Yusei sighed, shaking their heads at Kalin.

"Stop it now, Kids!" a familiar voice commanded. The kids stopped and turned to find Martha silently fuming, and the dreaded frying pan in one hand. They quickly dropped their grips on Alisa, and looked away like they'd done nothing. Alisa sighed in relief, never before, had she ever been so grateful to see Martha in her life.

"You're hurting the poor girl," Martha snapped, staring hard at the kids, "Alisa will spend time with you when she wants to, and if you ask nicely! Not like what you'd been doing, making a ruckus like foolish hooligans!"

"Sorry Martha," the kids chorused in ashamed tones, "Sorry Alisa."

Martha nodded in approval, and Alisa smiled, accepting the apology. "Don't do it again," Martha warned, and stalked out of the lounge. The kids sighed dejectedly, and slowly trudged away.

"Some Knight you are Kalin."

"Shut up."

"Guys, secret meeting between Crow Hogan, Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas will now commence," Crow whispered, as he flicked on the flashlight, illuminating his face in the dark.

"It's 4am in the morning," Jack growled softly, "Why are we under the covers of my bed, in my room? I seriously need my beauty sleep." Crow snorted.

"Shut up, Jack," Crow hissed, "This isn't your room as well! It's mine, too!"

"Yea, yea," Jack rolled his eyes, "We share a room. And Crow had kindly organised this 'so-called secret meeting' in here, when everyone's sleeping – when it's 4am in the morning." He shot a glare at Crow.

Yusei sighed exasperatedly. "Crow, please get on with it, whatever this secret meeting's about. The three of us are under Jack's quilt, with Crow holding a flashlight which is hurting our eyes, and right now, we're getting nowhere. Just hurry with it before someone finds out. Plus, this is an uncomfortable place to be in. Especially in the middle of the night, and we want to sleep."

"I second that," Jack muttered, as he blearily rubbed his eyes.

"Ok, ok!" Crow whispered, "This secret meeting between Crow Hogan, Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas, in 4am – "

"Get on with it."

"Ok, ok! Well you know how Kalin likes Alisa, and stuff, even though they met one month ago or something. Two months? Meh."

"Yea," Yusei said, as Jack's head perked up with interest, "He wouldn't stop talking to me about her."

"It's obviously he had fallen head over heels, in love with her," Jack snorted loudly.

"Shh!" Crow hissed, and the three of them froze, as they heard someone's footsteps.

"Ugh…"

"It's Kalin!" Yusei whispered, recognising the voice, Jack and Crow nodded, feeling a bit anxious – what if Kalin found out that Yusei's not in bed? Getting anxious, Crow quickly switched off his flashlight.

"So sleepy," Kalin mumbled from the hallway, and padded somewhere.

"He went to the bathroom," Crow said, as they heard a door slam shut. They held their breaths, as they waited in silence.

"So tired," Kalin mumbled from the hallway, "Better go back to sleep…" The three boys, 'hiding' under the covers remained frozen.

"What if he finds out that you're not in bed?" Crow whispered frantically to Yusei, "You two share a room!"

"I sleep on the top bunk, and I was smart enough to arrange my pillow and quilt like I'm sleeping before I left to your room!" Yusei hissed. Crow sighed in relief, he was pretty fortunate that Kalin didn't wake up when he was shaking Yusei awake. He shook Yusei so hard, that even the beds started to shake, he thanked his lucky stars that Kalin's a heavy sleeper. And cursed Yusei for being a heavy sleeper as well.

"He's sleeping," Jack commented, as they heard loud breathing from next door – aka Yusei and Kalin's room.

Crow flicked on the flashlight. "Back to the main topic," he hissed, "Ok, I remember asking Alisa if she liked Kalin when no one was around. And – "

"You what!" Jack exploded.

"SHH!"

"Oh, sorry," Jack muttered. They froze again, waiting for any sounds. There was only loud breathing, mainly coming from Kalin.

"Stupid Jack," Yusei muttered under his breath.

"Back to the main point," Crow whispered sharply, "I asked Alisa if she likes Kalin, and guess what her response was? A blush! She blushed and turned her head away, so I wouldn't see her face."

"Hmm…" Jack stroked his chin, "It's obvious," he stated, "That Alisa likes Kalin as well." He smirked.

"And Kalin likes Alisa as well," Yusei said.

Crow's eyes gleamed, "And it's our job to make these two dense lovebirds realise their feelings and become a couple!" He rubbed his hands in glee, a grin etching onto his face.

"Ok," Yusei said, blearily and feeling irritable that he had been woken up at 4am for this pointless and ridiculous 'secret meeting' under Jack's (smelly) quilt, "Can we go back to sleep now?"

"No! Not yet!" Crow hissed. Jack and Yusei sighed and groaned inwardly.

"So, we're going to be matchmakers," Crow proudly declared, banging a fist onto his chest.

Yusei and Jack exchanged a glance, obviously not too pleased with the idiot (Crow) and his stupid plans. "If we're going to be matchmakers, then what's the plan of putting those 2 together?" Yusei said in a matter of fact tone.

"The idea is silly," Jack growled, "Isn't it better if Kalin and Alisa find out about their mutual feelings and stuff. It's not for us to interfere."

"I second that," Yusei agreed, fighting back a yawn.

"C'mon, guys!" Crow begged, "It'll be fun and stuff! I mean, we just need to think of a plan and yea!"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Whatever," he snapped, "I'm going back to sleep. Don't wake me up, we can discuss this tomorrow. So get off my quilt."

Crow sighed dejectedly, "Ok, ok, we'll discuss this tomorrow." Yusei sighed with relief. 'Such a pointless meeting, we hardly got anywhere,' he thought. He climbed off the bed and went back to his room, before bidding Jack and Crow a good night – which was promptly ignored, due to the fact that they had already fallen sound asleep. He rolled his eyes and trudged back to his room.

"…Alisa…" Kalin mumbled softly in his sleep. Yusei smirked in amusement, pursing his lips, so that his laughter won't escape. 'I wonder what he's sleeping about,' he thought as he climbed onto his bed and fell asleep, as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Um…guys?" Alisa asked, looking over at Crow, Jack, and Yusei holding a newspaper, and hiding behind it, their heads occasionally popping over the newspaper to eye her actions. "Are you alright?"

"Yea! Yea! We're fine!" Crow chimed, giving her a winning smile, "Oh, hey Yusei! This article looks pretty interesting!" He jabbed a finger at some random article.

"Yea, fascinating…" Yusei mused, but his eyes never left Alisa as well as Jack. Alisa sweat-dropped at the sight of this. Crow was just jabbing at the newspaper, and the three of them haven't taken their eyes of her, despite the newspaper.

"Is there something…you need?" Alisa inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we need to ask you a few questions," Jack stated, and batted the newspaper out of the way.

"Jack!" Crow hissed, "You just ruined it!"

Jack shot Crow a look. "Ruined what? That was just plain stupid! Are you too thick-headed, Crow? It's too obvious! We've been following her around the house, hiding behind some old newspaper!"

"You spilled the beans," Yusei sighed. He shot Alisa an apologetic look which she returned with a weak smile.

"Guys, is there something wrong? I think I can help," Alisa asked.

Jack nodded, "Yes, answer these questions as truthfully as you can."

"What questions?" Crow muttered, "My plan was pure genius!" Yusei snorted and jabbed Crow hard in the ribs, which caused him to shut up immediately.

"Alisa, do you like Kalin?" Jack asked bluntly. 'We must confirm it for our-self,' he thought, sometimes the words that comes out of the Bird-brain Crow's mouth, aren't reliable enough. Yusei stared at Alisa, wanting to see her reactions.

"Ah…um…" Alisa fiddled with her apron, a blush forming on her cheeks, and quickly spun around. "I-I need to finish washing the dishes!" she stammered, "Later, guys!"

Jack smirked. "She blushed and avoided the question. You know what that means. She likes him."

It had been confirmed. Alisa likes Kalin. One down, one to go.

"So, let me get this straight," Crow said slowly, "We're ditching my plans that I had devised for a long time, and asked them, straight out in the face! Just to 'confirm' some stuff!"

"Yes Crow, Yes," Jack sighed for the umpteenth time, "Yes. Just to confirm some stuff."

"Let's go ask Kalin. He's right there, sorting out his deck," Yusei said, tiredly. 'This is a waste of time,' he thought, 'Stupid bird-brain Crow.'

"Kalin," Yusei said, getting his attention.

Kalin looked up from his cards, his frown disappeared as he saw them, "Oh, hey guys. Need something?"

"Kalin, you'll have to answer this question with one-hundred percent honesty," Crow declared.

"Umm…ok?"

"Ok, then. Kalin," Jack began, "Do you like Alisa?"

The 3 boys watched their Leader of The Enforcers froze, his mouth opening and closing. They smirked in unison, as they saw his cheeks reddening. "Uh…-W-what!" Kalin spluttered, and his blush began to redden, "Is that Martha calling? Oh, better go! See ya!" With that, he quickly gathered his cards and rushed out of the room, without a second glance.

"Confirmed," Crow sighed, "Honestly, Jack! What's the point of this! Don't you trust my words?" No one answered.

It had been confirmed. Kalin likes Alisa. Two down. Suspicions confirmed.

"So what are we going to do now?" Crow sighed, as he stared at Jack and Yusei, waiting for answers.

"You're the one who came up with this ridiculous idea," Jack hissed, giving Crow a look, "This is getting nowhere and we're wasting our time!"

"You're the 'matchmaker' here," Yusei said, looking bored, as he fiddled with his deck, "Jack and I were just the 'spectators.'"

"H-Hey!" Crow spluttered, "But – " Yusei and Jack both glared at Crow in unison, causing him to shut his mouth.

"Oh dear…" Alisa murmured, as she examined her surroundings, "I'm lost." She had just went to The Enforcers' hideout to drop the basket of food there, but only Crow was there. He had eagerly grabbed the basket, and began wolfing it down, Alisa sighed as she reminded herself of the event.

Flashback.

"Um…Crow?" Alisa said, anxiously, as she watched the orange-headed boy wolf down the food, without chewing, nor taking a break. "Shouldn't you slow down or something? You might choke…"

Crow waved his hand carelessly, his eyes still glued to bread roll he had been eying as he was chomping away on an apple. "Don't worry, Alisa!" He mumbled out cheerfully, through a mouthful of apples, "I'll be fine!"

"What about the others?" Alisa inquired, watching him with great concern, "They will surely kill you when they have nothing to satisfy their stomachs."

Crow grinned, after swallowing his food, "Well, bad luck to them!" he tore into his bread roll. Alisa sweat-dropped nervously as Crow continued to eat away to his heart's content. Or stomach's content.

"I better be going back now," Alisa said, "Night will fall soon."

"Yea, you should," Crow answered. As soon as her hands were on the door, ready to push it aside, Crow spoke up again, "Say, Alisa?"

"Yea?" Alisa turned her head around, staring at Crow, "What is it?"

"How would you like Kalin as your knight?" He inquired, a curious look etched on his face.

Alisa opened her mouth to answer, but much to her horror, she felt her face flushed. "I-I-I – " She stuttered, 'Great,' she thought, as Crow's grin broadened, 'I'm blushing and stuttering!' "Later Crow!" Alisa quickly turned around, and rushed outside, allowing the cool air to blow on her heated cheeks. She buried her hands in her face, and walked, to wherever her feet led to.

End Flashback

"And because of that, I got lost," Alisa muttered. She surveyed the area, but it didn't make much difference, it looked the same as ever. Debris scattered everywhere, large boulders and slabs piled on one another, making a small mountain. Alisa's eyes nervously flickered from one spot to another, hoping that something would at least look familiar.

"Well, well, well," a voice jeered in a nasty tone, "Look who we have here. It's been awhile, girly."

Alisa froze as she recognised the voice. "Y-You…" She turned around to see the ugly Brute Leader who had threatened her when she first arrived in Satellite.

"I have a name you know," He growled, his eyes flashed menacingly as he stepped towards her.

"Mr. Ugly Brute who stepped onto the Enforcers' turf? I presume that would be your name?" Alisa jeered, thanking Crow mentally who came up with that name, but she mentally cringed as she saw his eyes narrowed.

He snarled, "Why not call me, Tom, girly?"

"Fine then, Tom." Alisa couldn't help but narrow her eyes dangerously at this 'Tom' fellow. She cautiously took a step back, her eyes never leaving him.

"You know," Tom said as he threw up a sharp pebble and catching it, repeating the process, "You caused me a lot of humiliation." He caught the pebble again, and turned to face her, his eyes full of madness and hatred, "Go die, why don't you," he sneered. And with lightning speed he hurled the pebble. Alisa gasped and ducked, feeling a wind flying next to her ear. She winced as the pebble made contact with the ground loudly. "Heh," Tom smirked. Alisa gasped again as she realised Tom was just in front of her, holding a clenched fist.

She screwed her eyes shut and screamed whatever came first to mind, "KALIN!"

Kalin looked up into the air and sighed. Lately, he had been pestered by Crow and Jack. They were buggering him about being a Knight for 'Princess' Alisa, and he should already 'sweep her off her feet' – whatever that meant. Even Yusei, Yusei of all people smirked when Crow teased him about it. What happened to being brothers. Sheesh, brothers weren't suppose to laugh (or smirk in Yusei's case) when he got teased.

He heaved a sigh again.

"KALIN!"

Kalin jolted up, his eyes widened with shock. "Who screamed out my name?" he said to himself, "That voice… Alisa!" He stood up quickly, and rushed to the place where the scream came from, "Alisa!" he yelled, "I'm coming!"

"Who?" Tom hissed as he grabbed Alisa roughly by the wrist, and twisted it, "Who did you screamed for?" He demanded. Alisa whimpered in pain, as Tom squeezed her more by the wrist.

Alisa squeezed her eyes shut, "Kalin…" she whispered softly.

"What did you say!" Tom twisted her wrist even further, relishing the sound when Alisa let out a short scream in pain.

"N-Nothing!" She gasped, "I said, nothing!"

"Yea, sure. Tell me now, or else I'll break your wrist." Alisa squeezed her eyes shut, as tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"ALISA!"

Alisa's eyes snapped opened, as she heard a familiar voice. "Kalin," she whispered, hope shone in her eyes, despite the tears that began its slow journey down her cheeks, "You came…"

Tom growled as he saw the familiar silver haired boy running towards them, his eyes flashing with anger. "Tch," he growled, and immediately released Alisa from his grasp. She sighed in relief and flexed her wrist, she frowned slightly as she saw a red mark around her wrist.

"Alisa!" Kalin yelled as he approached closer, "Are you alright?" Alisa couldn't help but release a few tears again, when she saw Kalin, worry reflecting his eyes.

"Tch…her stupid Knight's here," Tom growled softly.

"You!" Kalin pointed an accusing at him, "You trespassed! This turf belongs to The Enforcers'!"

Tom swallowed hard. "Let's have a duel," he demanded, "I win, and the girly comes with me, and you won't interfere. I lose and I'll never bother The Enforcers and girly again."

"I accept your challenge," Kalin declared, "And when you say you'll never bother the Enforcers, that means you cannot step into our turfs."

"Kalin!" Alisa gasped, "Are you –"

"Don't worry, Alisa," Kalin smiled reassuringly at her, "I won't lose, I promise."

"B-But –"

"Don't worry," Kalin winked at her, "Do you believe in your Knight, Princess?"

Alisa gaped at him, a blush forming on her cheeks. Then she smiled, "Yes, I believe in your Sir Kalin."

Kalin grinned in response and turned to Tom, a fierce gleam in his eyes, "So…Let's Duel!"

Alisa could only watch the duel, with an awestruck expression. She had never been a good duelist, thanks to her lack of experience. But in this duel, she could feel the intense air, the strong determination and a desire to win this duel. The holograms looks realistic, and moved with deadly grace, as they attacked the opponent's monsters and the players' life points. She winced as she saw Kalin's grimace as he got attacked directly, but the gleam in his eyes never left. He always stood back up, and she could see the strong trust in his deck as he drew his next card(s).

'This is amazing,' Alisa thought, '…Everything! And Kalin…that gleam in his eyes. Even when he's at 800 Life Points, he looks like he's having fun!'

"Let's end this! Attack!" Kalin commanded, as he pointed at Tom, "Attack him directly!"

Alisa clapped in delight, a smile forming on her lips as she watch Tom's Life Points drained to zero, and the holograms disappeared. "That was awesome, Kalin!" She exclaimed, "I knew you could do it!"

Kalin flashed her a peace ( V ) sign with his fingers. "Now," Kalin stepped towards Tom who was on his knees, "You know what you'd promised. Never bother the Enforcers and Alisa again!"

"Tch…" Tom growled, "Yes, I know. I'll leave right now." I watched him as he slowly picked himself to his feet and trudged into the distance, without looking back.

"Well… That's the end of it," Kalin grinned, "Looks like he would never bother us again. Let's go back to Martha's."

"Yea," Alisa agreed, as she strained a smile, "Let's go."

"Kalin?" Alisa asked, "Has Crow and Jack been bothering you? They had been teasing me, lately. I think they want to match-make us together."

Kalin flinched as if she had struck him. "O-Oh, they did? Yea, they had been bothering me as well," he admitted. A frown etched its way on his face. "Annoying idiots…especially that bird-brain," he muttered under his breath. He glanced at Alisa, who seemed lost in thoughts, and was arguing to herself about something. "Alisa? Something wrong?"

Alisa snapped out of her trance and nodded. "I'm fine," she strained a smile, but it faded quickly. She bit her bottom in worry. 'Would he accept them?' she thought as she peeked at him nervously. She flushed as she remember Crow's words of 'encouragement' – "You love him Alisa, I can see I in your eyes! You don't like him, you LOVE him. Now hurry up and confess already!" 'Very helpful, Crow,' Alisa thought, shaking her head at the orange head.

She took a deep breath. Now or Never. "Um…Kalin? I want to tell you something…well, something I had been holding back for a long time."

"What is it?" Kalin inquired.

"Um…"

["OH HURRY UP! Hurry up and confess already! Ouch, Jack! Stop sitting on me!"]

["Shut up, Crow! You're too loud! They'll hear us!"]

["What Yusei said. And I'm not sitting on you! Who wants to?"]

"Do you hear, something, Alisa?" Kalin frowned as he glanced at some nearby rustling bushes, despite the fact there was no wind, "I swear, that sounded just like Crow, Jack and Yusei."

"No, I didn't hear anything… They should be at Martha's, should they?" Alisa answered, as her gaze flickered nervously from one place to another. She eyed the rustling bushes suspiciously, before averting her gaze back to somewhere else.

"Yea, let's hurry up."

"Um…so what did you want to say, Alisa?" Kalin inquired as he glanced at the strangely quiet girl, "About before."

"Oh…yea, that," Alisa mumbled, as she reddened. 'I can't do it!' She screamed mentally in her head, 'What if, WHAT IF…' She sighed heavily. But her blush never left her cheeks.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kalin asked, as he placed his hand on her forehead, "You're all red, are you coming up with a fever or something."

Alisa blushed even more. "I-I'm fine," She stuttered, as Kalin removed his hand from her forehead. 'He's so kind,' Alisa thought, as she glanced up at him, from the corner of her eyes.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Alisa froze. "Ah…um…The truth is…uh…um…" She reddened even more.

"Are you alright, Alisa? You can tell me later."

Alisa glanced at Kalin. He was smiling, though he looked slightly disappointed, as if he had been eager to hear what she's going so say. She swallowed, 'I have to do this now.' "Kalin…" She spoke, she secretly smiled to herself, she liked how his name rolled off from her tongue, "I…" 'I can do this.' "I… Even since I met you…umm…I felt this strange feeling in my heart, I never felt it before. It's kind of…fluttery and warm, it makes me feel all… I don't know how to say it, though. Um…sorry about that…" Kalin was silent, so Alisa continued on, "You're always there to help me, like the way you fought off Tom, whatever his name twice…thank you, for that, I really appreciate it." She screwed her eyes shut, the silence seemed ominous, "Kalin…I think…I love you," She confessed, her voice getting more softer.

Alisa opened her eyes, to see Kalin's shocked face. 'I knew it,' she thought, a feeling of despair worming it's way through her heart, causing it to feel heavy and painful, 'He won't return my feelings. I wrecked the friendship between us. Dang it.' She quickly turned away, "Sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry, Kalin!" Now his name doesn't feel right as it rolled off her tongue, it felt…bitter. She ran. Away from him. Tears that she had been holding back ever since she saw his shocked eyes, escaped.

"Alisa!" She almost froze as she heard him, she staggered as she tripped over a rock, and continued to run, tears streaming down her cheeks. 'I can't face him,' she laughed bitterly in her head, 'I'm such a coward.'

Kalin stared at Alisa's back, as it grew further and further away from him.

… I think…I love you

He blinked, shattering away his shocked façade and ran after her. "Alisa!" he yelled. 'I feel the same away too, Alisa,' he thought, as his feet pounded heavily on the ground as he raced after her, 'I'm sorry… I'm just…surprised. I never thought that you felt like that.'

He almost smiled as he closed up the distance between them, 'Nearly there,' he thought with grim satisfaction, he reached out his hand, and grabbed her shoulder, and whirled her around in a swift motion. Pain stabbed at his heart when he saw the tear-stained cheeks. And without knowing it, he embraced her.

"Kalin…" Alisa gasped out, as she froze in his embrace, "I'm –"

"No, I'm sorry. I was too shock to react, I'm sorry about that," Kalin apologised, burying his head in Alisa's hair, "I…love you too."

Alisa gasped in surprised, and new tears found its way out. But this time, it was out of happiness not despair. She sniffed, and tentatively wrapped her arms around Kalin. She leaned against and smiled. Kalin smiled as well, feeling peaceful at last, after from struggling with the battles of the turfs, Crow and Jack teasing him and dealing with his feelings.

Somewhere, not far, some 'bushes' ruffled, even though there was no wind. Crow Hogan slowly stood, up careful not to make any noise as he snapped a picture of a couple embracing each other. He snickered as he imagined the priceless looks on Kalin and Alisa's faces. He quickly bent down and huddled under the bushes with the arrogant Jack Atlas and Yusei Fudo. He smirked as he packed away the camera. They both glared at him, muttering about stupid bird-brains these days. Humph! Talk about themselves!

Shoving away those thoughts, he grinned, "Success! Now we have a lifetime of blackmail! Now let's go back to Martha's!"

"With these bushes?" Yusei groaned, as he scratched the back of his neck, where the twigs had been poking him for awhile.

"Of course!" Crow snapped, "Kalin is going to kill me if he sees the three of us running away from here! We're only like 10 metres away from him! He can spot us if we just dash off from right here!"

Jack hissed in disdain, "Yea, our knees are going to ache again once we 'slowly' shuffle away from here! It's going to take hours!"

"Jack, we're going to 'slowly shuffle' away, then when the coast is clear and Kalin can't see us, we're going to run the way back to Martha's!" Yusei growled exasperatedly. "Thanks a lot Crow!"

"Yea, thanks a lot!" Jack snarled at the orange-head.

Crow only shrugged. "But it's worth it, right?" The only answers were death glared from Yusei and Jack.

"Ow! Some branch just poked me!" Jack hissed.

Crow sneezed. "The leaves are tickling me," he groaned.

Yusei sighed. "Whose fault is it in the first place?" No one answered, the answer was too obvious.

Alisa smiled happily, her right hand holding Kalin's left hand, and gave it a squeeze. "We're there, Kalin! Martha's place right up ahead!" With her free hand she pointed at the small house in the distance. Kalin smiled gently at her. Her eyes sparkled happily as she half walked, half skipped there. His smile not leaving his face, Kalin followed, his eyes twinkling, their fingers still entwined as they walked happily back home.

The message was clear in the air, they can even feel it.

I love you, Kalin.

I love you too.

Special

"So, you're a couple now," Jack spoke slowly, a bit too slowly, as he stared at Alisa and Kalin before them. Alisa only nodded shyly, while Kalin just scowled slightly, and glared at him.

"Martha, please calm down!" Yusei begged, as he tore another tissue from the tissue box, "I know you're happy and that! But please, you're crying over the place! The kids are asleep you know! And if you're too loud, they will wake up!"

Martha blew her nose in a tissue, wiping away her tears that kept flowing down her cheeks. "I know, Yusei, I know!" She managed to choke out, "B-But it's just so beautiful and sad that Kalin managed to find a perfect girlfriend. And – and, it's just like a mother seeing a son ready to get married!" She wailed, and blew her nose, "It's so sad! A perfect girl like Alisa with someone like Kalin!"

Crow snickered, whilst Kalin glared at the woman snivelling, with Yusei patting her back, trying to fight a smile. Jack didn't even try, he snorted at his adopted mother's words. "What's so bad about me?" Kalin hissed.

"Well," Crow sniggered, "You're a pompous jerk, oh wait. That's Jack." He ignored Jack's indignant huff and glare, "Well…an idiotic Knight with a fine Princess. I can't say that's a good match."

"Well… This 'Princess,' loves the 'Knight' for who he is," Alisa laughed, "And Crow, are you just jealous because you couldn't get a girlfriend?"

Now, it's Jack's turn to snigger, but Crow scoffed. "No that's Jack. He mumbles about crazy fan-girls cheering for him in his sleep."

"That's true," Yusei agreed, "He even drools when he dreaming about it."

"The Jack Atlas does not dream those disgusting stuff, and drool!" Jack yelled, his eyes flashing in anger as he pointed at Crow and Yusei.

"Oh be quiet, the kids are sleeping," Martha sniffed, and blew her nose again, "Excuse me, I need to check on the kids. Don't be too loud, you five." She sniffed again and left the room.

"So, when's the wedding?" Crow asked impishly, and held up a photo of a certain couple hugging, "Are you two going to use the same pose?"

"WHERE DO YOU GET THAT?" Kalin roared, as he snatched for the photo.

"A few hours ago," Jack sniffed.

"Yea, thanks to that, we got some scratches and aching knees," Yusei grumbled, "Courtesy of Crow Hogan. Honestly, what's with him?"

"Idiocy? Stupidity?" Alisa suggested.

"Yea, and others too," Jack agreed.

"Say!~ Yusei, Jack!" Crow laughed as he danced out of the way of Kalin again, "I'm the best matchmaker of all times, right! And you two are my beloved assistants that literally moan about everything! Ranging from hiding bushes and –"

"SHUT UP, CROW!" "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, CROW!"

"Who wants to kill Crow?"

"I DO!"

"Hey, Kalin, Alisa! You two need to say 'I DO' in your wedding. Oh yea? Can I be the priest? Jack can be the bridesmaid! No, wait! He can be the flower girl! And Yusei can be the best man!"

You can say that, that night was very…eventful, and action packing. Kalin never got the picture that Crow took. But Martha managed to take the photo away and hide it in her secret album, without anyone knowing. Crow was very sad because his photo went missing, but on the other hand, Kalin and Alisa were pleased about that. You can also say that, everyone had a lovely evening, but everyone was very happy, when Martha threatened to kick Crow out of the house with the dreaded frying fan, because he was screaming (like a girl) too much.

A/N: THANKS FOR READING! QAQ Thank you to those who will fav/review this, i really appreciate it! *blows nose in tissue* I think i need to get those tissues back from Martha, humph.

So anyway, thanks again for reading, i hoped you enjoyed it. I noticed that some scenes were really weird and out of place, like Jack in a pink apron, Alisa dueling Itsuki, and delivering the basket of food to The Enforcers and stuff, those scenes are KINDA like, to emphasize the time that had passed. Well, something like that...
I also think some scenes were kinda cheesy, like when Alisa confessed, i really had no idea...so yea... i just wrote what came to mind.

Kalin, Jack, Yusei and Crow probably acts different from what you think, i had written them like that because i thought their personalites were different from the Original Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's time. In ~3 years, their personalities can change. Judging from the episodes where they had The Enforcers scenes, I thought they will have a brotherly bond kind of thing, so they muck around, tease each other, their like... siblings, Brothers to be exact, so yea...

Since Jack, Yusei and Crow were raised by Martha, i thought they will also live with her too. And Kalin... maybe those 3 invited him? I really have no idea...

Alisa Lawton, my OC in this story, has some flaws.
Her Flaws:
- Not a great Duelist (you can tell how she lost to a child, Itsuki), because of her lack of experience.
- Not a great BEAUTY, she kinda average, brown hair, with some curls, that reaches just below the shoulders. Her most interesting features would most likely be her amber eyes.
- Not specially talented, doesn't really had a talent for music, or sports or anything...
- SHE'S CLUMSY, you can tell how she tripped over a crack in the floor (and landed on Kalin), and when she's tripped over a ROCK when she ran away from Kalin.

Well, there's some of them... not much (even though that's not the complete list), but it's still FLAWS, right? Mary Sues has NO FLAWS... weird.

Itsuki and Annie are the 2 kids found in the Satellite Area, in the game: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's World Championships 2010, Reverse of Arcadia. I don't own them.

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's and their characters rightfully belongs to Takahashi Kazuki, the creator.

I only own the plot, and my OC, Alisa Lawton.

Yusei, Crow, Jack, Kalin and Alisa are around 15-16 years old, in this story, if you were wondering. The kids are probably around 7-10 years old, including Annie and Itsuki. Martha...and Tom/UGLY BRUTE... I have no idea how old they are.

And if you were wondering why Kalin and Alisa didn't kiss, that's for you to imagine. *smirks* OK, OK - you can think that they kissed when they hugged! SHEESH!

Anyway, THANKS FOR READING! :D :D :D