Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its related characters or themes!

AN1: originally written for Airin-chan! A personalized gift LOL

AN2: as with all my fanfiction, you'll be faced with a pretty awesome amount of OOC-ness, I mean... you'll expect it from a Seto Kaiba love story... but I tried to keep it as in-character as possible :)

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Valentine's Day

Challenge

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Airin Wolf smiled as she shuffled through her deck. The previous night she'd stayed up until three to ready her deck properly. She checked for her special combo of cards….

… Red-Eyes… Flute of Summoning Dragon… Lord of D….

"AIRIN!" she heard three voices call her name, interrupting her train of thought.

Turning around, she was confronted by three of her best friends. The young girl pocketed her deck. When she had moved to Domino a year ago, she had met them during the final stages of the Battle City elimination rounds. She hadn't taken part of that tournament, but she knew who would win. Even in her small hometown, Yugi Mouto was known as the King of Games. And now, with the newest Championships tournament, she was ready to take her love for the game to the big league.

Ryou, Duke and Yami Yugi stood in front of her, grinning widely with their hands behind their backs. She still couldn't figure out how the three of them managed to be friends –being so different in personalities- but she loved them anyway. "Hey, guys! Ready for the Championships?" she said excitedly.

The Pharaoh grinned, "Airin, did you forget what day it is?" he asked.

"You couldn't have forgotten, you were so psyched about it yesterday!" Duke said. She started wracking her brain for any clues, but nothing was particularly outstanding from yesterday…

Ryou nodded with an amused expression and his kind smile, "Maybe she did…. " he said as he looked over to the other two.

Airin frowned, "What are you talking about, it's the start of the tournament… isn't it?" she asked, suddenly worried she may have confused the dates.

The trio suddenly brought their hands forwards, showcasing three presents, all wrapped with heart-printed wrappings. "Happy Valentines Day!" the three chimed together.

"It's WHAT?!" she squeaked uncharacteristically as she received a kiss on her cheeks from the three boys. "Valentines, Airie-chan! You were so excited about it yesterday, we thought we would surprise you" Ryou said kindly, tilting his head.

"So? What are you waiting for?! Open them!" Duke said, barely containing his own excitement.

From Ryou, she had received the newest cd from Gackt. From Duke, she received a keychain with a photo of the three of them in the plastic mould. The picture was taken when they had taken her to the fair for her birthday. All three of them had the goofiest expressions on, and it always made her laugh. From Yami, a pair of hair-ties with a charm with her name attached to each.

"Thank you! I love it so much!" she yelled, jumping up and hugging them happily. She laughed excitedly as she looked each one over, grinning from ear to ear.

"This is a Championships Tournament… not The Bachelorette" Seto Kaiba said grimly as he stalked past them, trying his best not to look too interested. She blushed at his remark and quickly stepped away from the three. Seeing her reaction, they all silently made an agreement to spur her on.

"Go" they insisted to her. Duke overdid his encouraging wink, causing her to blush beet-red in embarrassment. Distracting her from her current situation, Yami and Ryou started pushing her after Seto with their own smiles. "Thank you so much! I love it! I'll see you guys later!" she said over her shoulder while running towards the Kaiba Corp CEO.

Stuffing her presents into her handbag and tying the hair-bands into her hair, she ran after him. She could see him slowing down ever so slightly when he heard her voice. "Morning, Mr. Kaiba" she teased as she finally reached his side. The young CEO ran his hand over his face, hiding his blush, "Don't call me that. Didn't I tell you call me 'Seto'?" he said.

Airin shrugged, "Hmmm… I suppose…. How are you feeling today?" she asked, excitedly. He glanced at her with a small smile tugging at his lips, "I've finally worked out the perfect strategy… there's no way I can lose" he muttered, more to himself than anyone.

The young woman eyed him for a second, "That's cool… I'm so excited for my match too! Well, I've got to go. My first match is starting" she said as the announcement rang through the intercoms.

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Thanks for reading!