A/N: I'm back! I had to fight off writer's block with my bare hands so this chapter could be published on time as I had promised! Again this chapter is dedicated to everyone who had reviewed, followed, and/or favorite this story! Love you guys! Well R, R, &R!

Chapter 4: So Smitten

The group of friends soon entered the small game shop. It was quiet except for the chatter.

"Hey Grandpa, we're home and with some customers!" Yugi shouted.

Soon, a short old man walked out from a room carrying some boxes. Solomon Motou placed them on the floor and looked at the visitors with a smile.

"Well," he said chuckling," what did I tell you about forcing strangers to come to the shop?"

"Tell Joey that," Yugi said rolling his eyes," besides they're not strangers! Sakura's a duelist!" With that, everyone pushed the nervous pinkie to up the counter.

"Well, then you must be here for duel monster cards," Mr. Motou said with a smile as he walked over to a shelf and came back with an arm full of duel monster card packs," Choose you pick." Sakura stared shocked at all the card packs. She picked one up and looked at it. She just didn't know what to choose.

"Just choose with your heart, Sakura-Chan," Yugi said, noticing her confused expression.

Nodding, Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She then reached out and took the ones that seemed to send a shock through her fingertips. Opening her eyes, she looked at the five packs she was holding in her hands. Smiling, she thanked Solomon and paid 456¥ (5.53$) for the packs.

"Come on guys. Follow me," Yugi said as he walked up a set of stairs. Everyone followed suit and soon were all sprawled out in the Motou family living room. Yugi excused himself to get refreshments for his guests. As he walked into the kitchen, he heard a chuckle from the back of his mind.

"What's so funny, Yami?" Yugi asked as he opened the fridge and pulled out the lemonade.

Chuckling again, his darker half replied," Oh nothing Aibou. I see you've made new friends, which isn't surprising."

"Yeah that seems to happen a lot. I owe it all to you, Yami," Yugi said smiling.

"I have nothing to do with this one, Yugi. It was all you," Yami said to his light," Speaking of these new friends, when shall I get the honor of meeting them?"

"Well," Yugi said, pulled 7 cups and a tray out of the dishwasher," I just met them today, so I don't wanna scare them off or for you to scare them off."

"Scare them off?" the spirit replied before sighing," Now, Aibou, You know I'm over my dark days."

Rolling his eyes, Yugi said as he poured the lemonade," It's not that. It the fact that I have an ancient spirit living inside of an Egyptian puzzle that can take over my body at any given moment. I'm not sure about you, but that sounds not only messed up but also border lining psychotic to me."

"Ok, well just remember that secrets don't make friends," With that, Yami receded back into the puzzle.

"Since when do you become an expert on friendship?" Yugi asked his dark. Yugi sighed when he got no answer. Grabbing the tray of drinks, he started to walk out of the kitchen when something dawned on him.

"Why so eager to meet them anyway?" Once again, there was no answer from the spirit. Rolling his eyes, Yugi decided to end his conversation with his darker half, so he took the drinks to his guests.

Truth be told, the reason Yami wanted to meet their new friends was just for one person… Sakura. Something about her captivated him. Something behind those emerald hues seemed to be trying to get out. She was a riddle, and he wanted to solve her.

Once Yugi had distributed the refreshments, Sakura started to show him the cards she had received from the packs. She had received many rare cards from the packs. The best cards were 'Change of Heart',' Mirror Force', 'Amazoness Swords Woman', 'Luster Dragon', and even 'Dark Magician Girl'. However, the one she liked the most was 'Hana the Swordmistress'*. Something about the card made her smile and it seemed to feel warm in her hand.

"Wow Sakura! These are great cards! " Yugi said as he looked through the cards.

"She chooses very well. We only just met her and she is already trusting in the heart of the cards. She might be a natural Yugi," Yami added. Yugi just nodded to his dark. However, there was only one way to see how good she really was.

"How about a duel, Sakura?" Yugi asked the rosette.

Shocked, Sakura thought for a moment before answering," Sure! I'd love to!"

"Whoa Yug! Does that mean they're gonna meet the Spir-"Joey started to say before he received a whack of the head by Téa.

Yugi quickly covered up his friend's slipup," What Joey was trying to say was that when I duel, I'm not really myself. I kinda transform into a more confident me."

Sakura nodded in agreement. She knew exactly how he felt. When she was with her friends and family, she was just the over emotional sweet Sakura, but the moment she stepped onto the battlefield, she become no more than a tool in the hands of her leaders… She became a Shinobi.

"As long as you don't go easy on me Yugi!" Sakura said with a smile. With that, the two started to prepare their decks. Sakura took out a couple of cards from her old deck and added in the new ones before carefully shuffling them. They then traded decks and shuffled each other's with care before handing them back. Within moments, Sakura made her first move. Even though her first move wasn't her last, it wasn't long before Yugi had demolished her life points while his remained untouched. Sakura stared wide-eyed at the cards on the tabletop as she finally realized she had lost. She didn't expect to win but to be defeated in only 5 turns did hurt a little.

"Wow, you're really good!" Sakura said with a sigh. She was still trying to put together all that happened in the last 3 minutes.

"Well you can't beat Kaiba and Pegasus without being good!" Joey said giving his modest friend a wink.

It took a second for what the loud blonde had said to click in her head. Sakura's hand went to her mouth to stifle a gasp.

She looked a Yugi in shock as she said," YOU defended the Seto Kaiba and Maximillion Pegasus! But… what… HOW?!" She knew he was good but THAT good!

Rubbing the back his neck, Yugi replied," Well, I guess I kind of had some help." He glanced down the Millennium Puzzle for second before looking back up at the pinkie's stunned expression.

"Come on! Don't be so modest, Yugi! You were the one dueling, so how could anyone help you?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm …well," Yugi was trying to think of something so say.

"Just tell her the truth Aibou," the spirit said to his light.

"Well, just I guess when I duel I hear voices telling what to do," Yugi blurted out. He mentally face palmed himself for his stupid excuse. Yami just rolled his eyes.

Sakura giggled as she said," Well whatever it is, it's working!"

After a moment, Yugi had an idea. "If you want, I can show you a few tricks," Yugi suggested.

"I'd be honored Yugi!" She said with a smile. With that, the two grabbed their cards and went up the stairs to Yugi's room. On their way up, they heard a chuckle from Joey before Téa knocked him in the head. Sakura just rolled her eyes. Yugi was sweet and all but… he just wasn't her type. She was more into the dark and mysterious type. The kind that you had to work to solve.

Soon, the two had cards all over the floor. Different cards were matched up together showing different methods and strategies. However, the kunoichi wasn't paying much attention to the cards. What really had her attention was the object around Yugi's neck. She couldn't believe she didn't notice it before. Something about it was unique. She swore she'd seen that weird eye symbol before in a book or something.

"Now, if you have 'Kuriboh' and the card 'multiply' in your hand, you can- hey Sakura? Hellooo?" Yugi said waving his hand in front of her face.

Snapping out of her dream like state, she apologized," Sorry Yugi! I was just distracted a little." Her eyes trailed back over the Millennium Puzzle.

When Yugi saw her looking at the Puzzle, he sighed.

"Just tell her Yugi. You can't get your way out of this without actually lying to her," Yami said," Plus if she's a real friend, she won't mind just like the others didn't mind either."

The spirit had a point. Taking a deep breath, Yugi asked," You're wondering about the Puzzle, aren't you?"

Sakura looked at him, biting her lower lip. She just nodded.

"Well, it's called the Millennium Puzzle and well," Yugi sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck," remember when I told you that I hear voices when I duel and that I'm not really myself when I duel. It's because I'm not myself at all and well the Puzzle well hmmm." UGH! How was he going to explain this to her without looking like a disturbed lunatic!?

"Maybe I could explain it better Aibou," Yami suggested. Yugi just nodded slightly and took a deep breath.

"I can't really explain it but I know someone who might be able to do it better," Yugi said with another sigh," See you in a few minutes, Sakura." She expected him to stand up and go get or call someone but he just sat there on the floor in front of her. He closed his eyes and dropped his head. Before Sakura could question him, she felt this shift in the atmosphere. A cool breeze seemed to go through the room. Sakura remained rooted to her spot and Yugi slowly lifted his head; only thing was…that it wasn't Yugi.

His intense stare caused a slight blush to spread across Sakura's cheeks. He looked like Yugi but he couldn't be Yugi. He had this aura around him… it was dark and mysterious but not scary. Sakura looked into his intense purple orbs for what seemed like forever before he stood up. He seemed to be taller than Yugi but only by 2 or 3 inches. Sakura nervously stood up forgetting about the cards. Their intense staring contest continued as he held out his hand. She was about to shake it when she heard running up the stairs. Everyone ran into the doorway causing the two the break their eye contact. Naruto and Sai looked at the spirit with odd looks while the others were trying to stay calm. They weren't used to seeing the spirit out of dueling. Yami just gave them a look that said 'explain it later. Just leave.'

With that, Joey, Tristan, & Téa dragged Naruto and Sai back downstairs. Sakura just laughed softly as she rubbed her hands together. They looked at each other again for another minute or so before Yami chuckled.

"Well it appears that I'm not doing any better explaining everything than my partner," Yami said with a chuckle that sent chills up Sakura's spine. She blushed a little more as he smirked at her.

"I believe I was introducing myself," he said holding out his hand once more," You can call me Yami." Sakura slowly took his hand. The moment their skin touched a surge of electricity flowed through them but neither chose to acknowledge the chemistry between them.

"I'm Sakura," she said shaking his hand. Once their hand had separated, the staring contest began again. After a moment, they both started laughing at the awkwardness.

"So," Yami began as he took a seat on the edge of Yugi's bed," I should be explaining well myself, but be warned, it's not very long." Thus, he began to tell her the little information that he knew of himself and the millennium items.

"Wait, so let me get this. You don't even know your own name!" Sakura exclaimed to the spirit who just shook his head.

"And Pegasus had one of these Millennium items?" Sakura asked. Yami shook his head yes.

"Well damn this is confusing," Sakura said pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Welcome to my life," Yami sighed," So what about you Sakura?"

"Huh? What about me?" Sakura asked.

"Well," Yami said trying not to be rude," You seem different from the others. You're friends seem different also."

Laughing nervous, Sakura said," Well aren't you observant Yami-Kun? My friends and I are different. We're… shinobi."

"Shinobi?" Yami asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. With a deep breath, Sakura started to explain the basic of being a ninja. She explains to him how charka works, and even genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. Soon, they had forgotten about cards and were sitting on Yugi's bed sharing stories. Sakura told him about her first mission with her team a genin, and Yami shared stories of Duelist Kingdom. By the time the sun had set, the two felt like they had known each other for their entire lives. Occasionally, Yami would accidently brush his arm against Sakura's causing her to shiver from the contact. She usually covered it up until he noticed.

"You cold Sakura?" he asked her as she blushed.

"Ummmm… well…," she stuttered out but before she could say any coherent words, Yami was taking off his jacket. He handed it to her. Not knowing what to say, she took his jacket and carefully slide into it. Suddenly, her nose was engulfed in the most beautiful and unique smell she had ever smelled. It smelled like cinnamon and mint and soap and just another smell that was unique all on its own. His scent was mesmerizing and it gave her goose bumps. She bit her lower lip when she felt an unfamiliar warmth spread deep within her abdomen.

"That better?" he asked.

"Oh um yes thank Yami-Kun" Sakura said, trying not to stutter.

Yami smirked slightly at the horrific she added to his name. He wasn't sure what it meant but he liked it. Yugi being a lot more familiar to the Japanese language knew what it meant, so he could help but laughing.

"What's so funny Aibou?" Yami asked light.

"Oh nothing but the fact that you two are hitting it off so well," he said laughing again. Yami wasn't sure what his light meant by 'hitting it off' but he did know that he liked being with Sakura. It made him feel… complete. Sakura looked at Yami as he stared at her causing her to blush a dark shade of red.

"You ok, Sakura?" he asked feeling her bright red cheek with the back of his hand.

Sakura could only stutter because her mind was going crazy. He tilted his head to the side and slowly the distance between them shrank. Yami felt her forehead with his hand and noticed she felt warm… so very warm, and her lips looked so soft and she smelled oh so wonderful. The distance from their lips was closing in when suddenly-

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled from downstairs," You're mom's gonna be here soon, so hurry!"

Sakura's inner was mentally cursing the knucklehead out right now, but the small sane part of her was thankful for Naruto. Yami …well… he was trying to figure what the hell had just (or almost) happened. The two looked at each other and looked away before they got on the floor to pick up the duel monster cards. Soon, the still frazzled pair was walking down stairs where her mom was waiting.

"Oh good there you are! I was wondering what was taking so long" Ms. Rin said with a sly grin on her face. Sakura just blushed and turn around to say bye to Yami.

"Thanks for the tips Yami-Kun," She said trying not to stutter any," Oh yeah and here's your jacket."

"Just keep it for tonight," he said as Sakura started to take it off," it might be cold and plus I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Sure!" She replied with a smile, secretly very happy she didn't have to give him his jacket back yet," and tell Yugi thanks and bye for me."

With that, they all said quick goodbyes before loading into the taxi. The moment they had left, Yugi was back and was rolling around the living room floor laughing.

"What had happened between them Yug?" Joey asked.

"Well," Yugi said regaining his composure," all I have to say is that those two are so smitten that it's not even funny." With that, they all laughed at the funny situation they had started.

A/N: OMG! It's so late but I promised I would have this for guys so here it is! I would have had it sooner but as I said, I had to fight of writer's block! I didn't proof read this well, but I will today or tomorrow and then make any corrections! I hope you guys liked the SakuraXYami fluff!

*not a real card; based on Kanan the Swordmistress but has higher attack and defense points etc.

(Has been edited!)