Chapter 1 – Confrontation

Finally, here is the first chapter in my new story. Wow, I can't believe that I'm actually starting, really starting a new story. "Christmas Chaos" was so long in the making that I thought it would never be done. The scary thing is, it isn't. An epilogue is in the works as we speak although it will be a while before it comes out. But I promised you all a new chapter for this story, so here it is. Without further rambling, let's see what mischief Yugi and Yami get themselves and Kaiba into…

The squeal of hinges and a resounding 'thwap' as the door to his office was rudely thrown open drew him out of his self-imposed trance. His eyes took a moment to readjust after staring blankly at the computer screen for the last half hour, her words still echoing truth through his mind. He hadn't been able to get any work done at all. Nothing. Except for changing the colour of the cursor as it flashed on the screen, much as her eyes had in the hallway.

Drawing a deep breath, he didn't even turn towards the door as he responded to the noise. "Clarisse, I thought I told you I wasn't to be disturbed." Holding in his fury at his incompetent secretary, Seto finally glanced at the door when he didn't hear her whimpered apology. What he saw made his heartbeat triple.

What the hell was he doing here?

"I… I'm sorry, M… Mr. Kaiba. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen when I said you weren't to be disturbed…" Her words trailed off to a soft, non-existent whisper as the red, flustered face grew closer to tears at the reprehensible look on his face. She was supposed to obey his orders and yet she'd failed in this one simple task. He had a good mind to fire her on the spot but decided at the last second against it. She was less incompetent than the last one he'd fired on Tuesday. At least this one could make a decent cup of coffee first thing in the morning.

"Don't blame her, Kaiba. I would have come barging in to see you no matter who had been guarding your door." Yugi had stopped in the middle of Kaiba's office, looking for all the world as if he were about to play his best trump card during a championship duel.

The sniffling secretary, Clarisse Montagne he remembered, backed away slowly as the temperature in the office dropped by about a million degrees as the two rivals regarded each other. The door shut silently behind her and Seto almost sighed in relief. One less problem to worry about. She was quiet as a mouse so he didn't need to fear that she would be eavesdropping on the other side of the door. Word of the meeting was probably already spreading through the building like wildfire but the exact nature of the meeting would still be between himself and the boy staring at him, his violet eyes alight with laughter.

Seto turned the intensity of his glacial gaze up a notch and gave voice to his earlier thought. "And just what the hell are you doing here? I don't remember ordering shrimp."

Yugi's dark chuckle grated on his last nerve. "Feeling a little testy today, Kaiba? It's no wonder after that fiasco in the hallway." The King of Games strutted closer, shoulders thrown back and head held high as he locked eyes with Kaiba. The way he moved towards the chair directly across from him screamed of confidence and, dare he say it, arrogance. When had the kid picked up such self-assurance? And he still hadn't stated the reason for his presence in his office yet. Seto wasn't used to asking twice. Wait, he'd mentioned something about the hallway. Yugi couldn't know… there was no way…

"What business is it of yours how I'm feeling? Get out, Yugi. I don't have time to deal with the likes of you today." His voice didn't even tremble as he said that, a sure sign that he had his emotions fully under control. He couldn't afford to lose that control right now… not after what Mazaki had done to him.

"No."

If it had been anyone else, he would have been calling security but a gut feeling told him that it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of the pint-sized pineapple head. The kid could be like a dog with a chew-toy. Besides, Seto needed to know what Yugi had been talking about when he'd mentioned the hallway. A flutter of fear gripped him, as the smirk on Yugi's face grew that much wider at Seto's hidden discomfort, almost as if he were enjoying it.

Silence hung in the air as Yugi moved through the office and took the leather chair directly opposite Kaiba's own. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear that Kaiba was nervous. The normally, very collected teenage billionaire looked distinctly more uncomfortable than usual as his blue eyes gazed at anything but him. Perfect, he'd gotten the upper hand much more quickly than he'd thought.

'Your turn, Pharaoh.'

Leaning back slightly in the black leather chair, Yugi relaxed as the Spirit took control of his body. It was only fair since it had been his idea to come here in the first place, when they'd first overheard Anzu greeting Kaiba and the resulting nuclear fallout.

'Thank you, Yugi.'

Seto jerked back and blinked hard as a subtle, but noticeable, change came over Yugi. Was it just his imagination or had Yugi just sprouted another 4 inches of height and gained a crimson tinge to his normally bright violet eyes? The debacle with Mazaki must have stressed him out more than he'd thought. An appointment to the optometrist was a good possibility, too.

"No, Kaiba, you're not imagining anything," a deep, rich voice intoned. That definitely didn't sound like Yugi, whose voice was usually quite a bit higher. About four octaves higher, in fact. "Yugi and I have switched places. Don't you remember our helicopter ride together during Battle City as we searched for Anzu and Mokuba and I told you of my existence? I'm hurt, Kaiba." The expression of mock-sympathy set Seto's teeth on edge and a low growl almost broke through his wall of self-imposed silence.

"Last warning, Yugi or whoever you are. Get out of my office before I throw you out myself." It was more of a reflex than anything else that made him say it. Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back. Seto wasn't going to ask him again to state his reason for invading his private domain. His heart wasn't actually in the utterance, though many would have argued the presence of his heart in the first place. Anz…Mazaki wouldn't have…

"You may call me Yami and for the last time, Kaiba, I will tell you that I am not leaving. Not yet. You need my help too much to dismiss me so lightly." Let him chew on that thought for a moment. Yugi gave the Pharaoh a silent thumbs-up. This was going perfectly according to plan. Kaiba was too curious for his own good. Slowly, he saw Kaiba's eyes widen just the tiniest bit in disbelief. How easy was he to goad? And it didn't take Yami much to be able to read him like a proverbial book. He was too used to observing him from their duels.

"What would I need your help with? I don't need help from anyone." Leaning back in his padded leather chair, Seto stared at 'Yami'. How dare he barge into his office to offer his pathetic assistance? Seto had no need of help from anyone. He had learned to rely on his own wits and courage and so far, they hadn't failed him.

"After what I overheard in the hallways of the school, you would need the hand of Ra himself to make amends with Anzu after what you've done. Fortunately, you have me." Now Yami had him, hook, line and sinker. Kaiba couldn't have looked more interested in what he'd had to say, although he tried to hide it behind a mask of indignation. The look only lasted a second or two but it was enough to let Yami know how Kaiba was feeling. In fact, it was just about time for Kaiba to lose it…

Three…

Two…

One…

Crack…

"The… the hallway? I have no idea what you're talking about…"

'Reel in the line, Yugi. We have just pulled out a flabbergasted CEO.' Yugi's chuckle echoed merrily around his soul room and the insufferable smirk of victory on the Spirit's face made it just that much more entertaining.

'If Kaiba could see his face in a mirror right now… he'd swear he was a fish. His cheeks are about to explode!'

"Yes, Kaiba. The hallway of Domino High School. I overheard your 'conversation' with Anzu. I can't believe your bad luck. You had to pick today to be your usual arrogant, egotistical, self-obsessed, overconfident, overbearing self, didn't you? Even after everything you witnessed before lunch, I would have thought even you had more brains than that."

"The only thing I witnessed at lunch was Mazaki bawling her foolish head off as she ran into the bathroom." That had been a little on the strange side, but then again, there was nothing normal about Mazaki's choice of friends either. Jou, as they called him, was nothing more than a dog with more bark than bite. Honda was a lazy, spike-haired flirt that couldn't duel his way out of a wet paper bag. And Yugi believed way too much in the heart of the cards and in the existence of magic, Pharaoh's and Millennium items. Mazaki herself seemed to be the most normal out of the entire bunch.

"Do you know why she was crying, Kaiba? Or why she was laughing in English this morning? Or why she was so quick to anger with you after school when she normally would have just said no and been done with you?" Yami leaned back to watch the procession of emotions across Kaiba's startlingly blue eyes. From interest to disdain to undisguised bewilderment crossed his face but he had nothing to say. Yami was ready to shake his head in sorrow at the job he'd decided to undertake when he'd first come here. It would take the hand of three Ra's and assorted underlings to get through to Kaiba.

"You really don't understand women do you, Kaiba? The one time each month that makes them a little more sensitive and susceptible to their emotions and you pounced on Anzu in the hallway like a rhino on thin ice. You need my help more than I thought if you still want Anzu to accompany you to that Spring Ball." Yami sat forward a little on the chair, a wry grin on his lips at Kaiba's obliviousness. The CEO had led such a sheltered life that he didn't even understand that there were certain times that a man just did not approach a woman and command her to do anything. Today had been the day with Anzu. Yugi had sensed it on their walk to school as she skipped from topic to topic and emotion to emotion. A roller coaster ride with its highs and lows.

Kaiba let a slow breath pass through his lips as he thought about what Yami had just revealed. He'd never realized that Mazaki was so… emotional… in that way. Not that he'd ever taken the time to notice it before. He knew she was passionate about her friends when they were duelling or when they were in trouble but this… this was something out of his realm of experience. Not having sisters and not having had a mother figure for most of his life may have been partly to blame for that as well. So much truth lay in Yami's words and yet he still didn't want to accept help from the 'Spirit'.

"And just what makes you think that I'd want her to come with me now, anyways?"

A soft chuckle broke through the air between them and Kaiba watched the crimson tinted eyes dance merrily. "Because I know you, Kaiba. You've thought about your little encounter with her and realized that she didn't actually say no. Berated you, belittled you, called you names and told you to drop dead, yes, but she didn't reject you or your offer. On some level, you see that as a challenge. Besides, what other girl could you ask that wouldn't be a simpering idiot simply by being in your presence. Ra knows, you have that effect on most of the girls in the school, Anzu being the exception of course."

Seto looked up at the ceiling of his office. Could Yami possibly be psychic? Otherwise, how could he know that those were his thoughts before someone had rudely interrupted them by barging into his office? Seto was proud of his own abilities to read his opponents and find their weakness before he either duelled them or brought them in for negotiations at KaibaCorp. Now the tables were turned and somehow, this Yami character had analyzed him and found his own weakness. Seto was never one to back down from a challenge.

Mazaki was a challenge that he was looking forward to taking on.

"And how exactly would I need your help in the first place? I'm quite capable of asking Mazaki again myself tomorrow at school." That had been his plan all along except he would change the details of the encounter. No longer would he be the commanding CEO but more… polite when he asked her again. She wouldn't seriously reject him this time, she couldn't. He needed her help too much to let her get away.

"You are quite capable of that and, even though I would dearly love to see that confrontation, which is what it would turn into, I would like to see you succeed in your next approach." So close to his goal of getting Kaiba to agree had Yami and Yugi both on Cloud Nine. If this worked…

"So what are you proposing? How will having you help me ensure my success?" He needed to know more. More about girls, that was the truth. Maybe there was something that Yami could offer him that would help him. Losing face in front of von Schroeder was not something he was looking forward to. Seto had to stay calm and cool though the flutter of fear had turned quickly to one of temptation. It wouldn't be wrong to accept help from someone, would it, especially if it gained him what he wanted? Mazaki…

"Because Kaiba, unlike you, I know Anzu, quite well in fact. Not to mention, I have some clue as to how the female mind works. I was a Pharaoh 5,000 years ago."

"And that helps me how? I seem to have missed your reasoning." Seto's eyes narrowed as Yami let out a sigh of frustration before steepling his fingers together.

"As Pharaoh, Kaiba, I was required to have a wife." His voice had taken on the tone used to explain simple things to a small child. It seemed to be the only way to get his point across since Kaiba refused to use what he called a brain to come up with the answer himself. Kaiba could be thick as a doorpost at times. But if it had to be this way, then so be it… "More than one wife, actually, and not all of them were happy arrangements. I had to learn to love all of my wives in my own way, although sometimes it was from a forty foot radius." The last words were uttered almost under Yami's breath but Seto heard them anyways. It was almost enough to pull a smile onto his lips. Almost. Maybe he wasn't so all knowing after all, as he usually portrayed himself to be during duels. "So in answer to your question, my past experiences will lead to your future success."

"And what if they don't? What if you fail me and Mazaki doesn't accompany to the Spring Ball at von Schroeder's? What do I have then except embarrassment and humiliation?" Kaiba was an executive to the end. Shrewd, cunning and always looking out for number one. He wouldn't technically lose face to anyone except von Schroeder. After all, he didn't need to have a date. Seto Kaiba didn't need anything. It was only to show up that pink-haired dweeb, to stay one step ahead of him.

"Then, Kaiba, to compensate for that, we will have our final duel for the title of King of Games in any venue you choose, televised internationally, on any night of your choice. On one condition of course." This was it. The final step of Yami's proposal. Kaiba would never turn this opportunity down.

"What condition?"

"If you do succeed in having Anzu accompany you to the Spring Ball, with my help of course, then you will forever cease your ridiculous attempts to force me to duel you once more. That is my price." Yami held his breath as he watched Kaiba's face closely. Any hint would be in his favour right now.

Seto leaned back in his chair, digesting what Yami had just told him. It seemed to be a win-win situation. If Mazaki went with him, he succeeded in pulling out the rug from under von Schroeder. If Mazaki didn't go with him, he had an opportunity to finally claim his title as the King of Games and regain the respect he deserved for it. The publicity for the event would in turn boost his company sales after the plummet they'd taken before the Grand Prix tournament was held.

"You have yourself a deal."

The world shook in that moment as the hand of the CEO clasped the hand of the ancient Pharaoh in the time-honoured tradition of concluding a business agreement.

There you have it, folks. Chapter one finished and completed. Chapter two is already in the works as we speak, at least, the ideas are written out. Hope you enjoyed it!

And yes, I realize that I am taking some liberties with Yami's past life, but hey, this is fan-fiction right?

Leave a review, if you want. It might make me write just that much faster ;)

Aphrael21;)