Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! However, I am claiming OCs I might have. I only accept constructive criticism.

Metempiricism

Chapter 7

What's In It For Me?


Wandering the streets of Domino City had definitely not been in the plans for Isis, yet almost two hours later, she was just now hitting the sidewalk outside her apartment. Even with the comforts of home mere meters away, her bottom found purchase on a bench against the large structure. People walked past her completely blind to her suffering as well as her sadness. Rather they continued chattering, smiling and laughing. Isis envied these people. That was how her life was supposed to be. She had always promised herself that once all of her duties were complete in regards to the Clan, Pharaoh and her brothers that she would finally become carefree and bask in what life had to offer. But here she sat on the corner of a happy street, dark in thought. Glancing over her shoulder, he eyes peered inside the expensive membership-needed gym that was attached to her apartment. It was ironic her body would give out before a health and wellness center.

She leaned back in the bench when she found her posture following her mood. She tucked her hair behind her and crossed her legs, resting her clasped hands atop of her knee while straightening her back. No matter what, her posture would not suffer with her. The sudden need to present herself in majesty almost made her chuckle—Yami always presented himself in regality. The idea of seeing the man slouch was the equivalent to seeing a sloth out run a cheetah; not only was it absolutely absurd but a laughable matter to even bring up or better yet, discuss. Or perhaps even the way he walked with his head held high. Legs making strong strides in such confidence, giving onlookers the idea that he's of great importance with a very beneficial destination—an objective they will never have the opportunity of attending unless something miraculous occurred or they did nearly a lifetime of hard work. Yami would look upon these watchers as dear subjects, silently rooting for them to follow him. To try and reach the heights he has in his success. Oh those eyes—forceful in gaze, precise in movement and above all scorching in the very element their color paid homage to.

Isis suddenly grabbed her chest where her heart hung and gasped. What was that? She looked around to see if anyone noticed her moment, but from the still moving people, her shock didn't startle anyone. Taking in a steady breath her mind maneuvered back through past thought and yet again she felt that thrust in her chest cavity. Grabbing the same spot, she once more pondered this strange sensation. Her mind seemed to be impatient with her, thus it forced another picture of Yami staring intently at her as he did at the game. Once more the now almost flipping motion happened again. This time around, Isis' emotions began to compute what was occurring. Slowly it asked the question: Is my heart fluttering? Yet again, the mind showed the ex-spirit again, but this time smiling, enjoying ice-cream for the first time with her on a sunny day. That had her heart stretching small web covered wings and it experimentally flapped them, causing a fluttering against her ribs.

Unknowingly out loud, Isis murmured, "Yes...yes it is..."

"Oh!" Isis gazed up to find a woman fresh out the gym gussying up in the window Isis was before. "Why thank you perfect stranger," the woman beamed as she once more checked out her rear. "I've been working hard for this bad boy!" Smacking her bottom the woman moved on.

Realizing Isis had just complimented a random woman's bottom didn't shock her as much as the feelings she was uncovering that she had for Yami. And man was she truly uncovering them! It literally felt like a veil was being pulled from her heart, showing her secrets she was meant to keep for the safety of her own sanity. Said sense had slowly been shattering the deeper her mind delved. But she needed to know! Never once had she entertained her feelings for Yami. In her mind it had been viewed as a taboo and preposterous. Taboo for her as an Ishtar to even imagine doing something as blasphemous as 'date' the Pharaoh or even touch him in a romantic way; to fantasize chimerical situations that would lead to an exchange of emotional words uttered in forbiddance. Preposterous for the mere logics of it all: 'Hello, this is Atem. He's roughly five thousand years old and enjoys Neapolitan ice-cream that he tried for the first time months ago.' Despite herself she chuckled. She had dealt with insane unbelievable happenings in her lifetime and she was putting in Yami's true age as a factor?

Shaking her head she felt herself turning silly things into problems. It was foolish. She scoured her memory banks for why she had never attempted to pursue the Pharaoh. They had many things in common; culture being a big one. Naturally they were both Egyptian but there was more to their similarities. Though Isis was raised in the modern age, her 'below sea level' upbringing didn't have the expected elements a child growing up in the recent times would. She and Yami had both read by fire light and bathed in natural waterways. They had both even been taught now what was seen as ancient ways of battle, while also divulging in aged literature. This was one of the bigger factors that had connected them. They had both had to learn how to handle modern technology and it had been especially hard in such a scientifically advanced country as Japan. But together they had made mistakes and from there, leaned on one another for support. Wasn't that what couples did? Lean on one another in scary times and uplifted the other in their positive endeavors?

Suddenly fear rushed over her and she bit her bottom lip. That was it. Isis was actually afraid to get too close to Yami. But many could argue their friendship had already passed many boundaries. However, she had the title of their relationship being a friendship to automatically keep him at an arm's length. Many would cross such a margin for the sake of the unknown but Yami was one to stay true to friendship...right? Well, not recently. Lately things had gotten quite a bit blurry and gray—a purgatory of relationships. But Kaiba caused the ultimate roadblock in any expedition Isis or Yami wanted to make. Blinking, her mouth formed a wordless 'oh no' at such a thought. Was Kaiba only around to keep Yami away? And if so, why did she need Yami so far from her? Every woman should know the secrets of their heart—even if it was just to bury them again. Isis swallowed as she spotted a familiar car pull up the curb and stop with a foreboding hiss of the engine. The car remained purring on the street way and she felt a lump form in her throat. Ever so slightly, the driver side window was cracked. Immediately Isis rose and walked around to the passenger-side and opened door. She climbed in and closed the door while looking straight ahead.

"Ave Maria... Vergin del ciel... Sovrana di grazie e madre pia..." Echoed throughout the car in a crisp vocal that made one feel they were there, watching a beautiful Italian opera.

Kaiba didn't even make eye contact with his new passenger but rather sped back into oncoming traffic earning a few horns and curses. He hurtled through the city at top speeds which usually caused Isis to ask him to slowdown, but the woman was quiet. After flying across the highway they made their way into the outer rim of the city where the infamous Kaiba mansion sad foreboding on an almost hill. The SK labeled gates opened swiftly at the arrival of their master and promptly closed behind him. The brunet brought the car to a stop in the circular drive and pulled the keys from the ignition. His long fingers strummed against the stick shift and it accompanied the sound of Isis' tapping foot against his expensive floor mats. He hated when Isis tapped her foot; it was one of her strongest tell-tales that she was irritated or bothered by something.

"Stop tapping your foot."

The foot continued on but no reply was given. Taken aback by the lack of response, the CEO veered his eyes right to find her already silently scolding him. He withheld the smirk at such a serious expression and settled for something less infuriating: a frown. "I saw you walking." Once more silence. Isis had done this before, offered him the silent treatment in what he had always viewed as a plus. Not that she talked a lot, it's just that Kaiba was known for few words, especially in situations such as these. He wasn't the best at dealing with emotional people which was exactly what Isis was—a very emotional creature. It was vexing most to the time to cater to her constantly changing moods but somehow he had half convinced himself it was worth it. Or at least, it would be worth it. "Why did you leave?"

"The same question could be proposed to you Seto Kaiba." Kaiba watched as Isis angrily undid her seatbelt and reached for the door. Grabbing her closest wrist he halted all further actions. "Unhand me."

"No." He felt her tug on the hold experimentally before conceding back into the plush leather of her seat.

"What is the point of this?"

"To keep you from leaving the car." He knew his tone was flat, signifying how dumb her question had been. He also knew the look she was now giving him, showed that she knew he had purposely bypassed the obvious question she asked.

"No Seto. What..." She paused resituating her wrist so that her hand rested in his. His hold slackened. "What is this...us? What is the point of us?" Her words fizzled away as if the option to utter them had been foolish.

This time Kaiba took his hand away and rested it on his leg. The question left him stiffer than what she knew. Anyone who knew him knew he hated talking about feelings. The mere idea made him want to gag. Even Isis knew he hated talking about this particular subject, yet she continued to push him. Push him so hard, at times he felt his resolve loosen and words would leave him he didn't want anyone else to know. Today had been one of those days. The parking lot conversation came very close to cracking his mask; a mask he had worked too hard to create and perfect. This one situation—woman, would not ruin him. Ever. 'Then why do you keep her?' a voice inside his head continued to ask. If she was the reason behind his inevitable spoil, why didn't he just cut her loose? Does the surgeon not remove cancerous things at the risk of further infection? 'Free her' the voice growled. It grew louder the longer he sat there until it drowned out the very silence of the car.

"Seto?"

Turning his head ever so slightly, he realized he had closed his eyes and wondered just how long they had been closed. "What?" It didn't come out as nasty as he would have liked.

"Are you okay? You seem like you have a headache." He watched her reach behind her seat to retrieve the very purse he had intended to return. After rummaging through it she produced a bottle of basic drug store painkillers. She shook out two and turned with almost innocent eyes in his direction. "Here."

Somehow his hand betrayed him and he took the two circular pills. Without waiting he took them dry and once more refocused his eyes out the windshield. "I thought you didn't like modern medicine."

"I do not care for pills but I carry them for you." Her voice grew softer, almost bashful like, "I have noticed how often your head pains you."

Kaiba felt that strange pull in his gut but ignored it as usual. "Whatever." Reaching up he pinched the bridge of his nose and considered nothing. His mind was trying to melt to nothing under her kindness and he didn't like it. In fact he hated how Isis drove him to stupefied thoughts to the point he had to reboot just to give a simple response. He absolutely hated the way she unintentionally affected him. But wasn't that the circumstance? Wasn't your significant other meant to sway you into different feelings and ideas? He agreed that this was true but no one had ever been able to influence his wishes. His brother was the closest to it and even then, the boy was a child and thus Kaiba naturally knew better. But with Isis, everything about his sharp behavior was constantly thrown off into skittish moments of lashing out and mellow times of silence. This binary code was losing its sequence and he wasn't having it. The perfectly laid out schematics of what was supposed to happen were all being jumbled by Isis' moodiness which had been a variable at one point. But this very variable was constantly stimulated to the point of intangible outcomes—intangible for his mind had not processed them in earlier analysis.

"You haven't answered my question Seto." He peered over to find Isis staring out the window. "What are we doing?" Isis sounded tired and he could tell she was very weary.

"We're sitting in the car." He heard the foot tapping begin again and knew he had once more blatantly avoided the question. He intended to do so as long as he could. At least until he could rid Isis of some of her outside motivation behind her sulkiness. That very push was indeed Yami. Whenever the short man came around Isis he noticed a visible change in her matrix. Things became unreadable for even the most complex into a code that could only be deciphered by the creator—a selfishly created language that she refused to teach anyone else, including Yami. Too many times he had watched Yami try and observe Isis as a baby does everything—wide-eyed and innocent in their endeavors but so determined to crack this mystery. He was not only sick of seeing it but sick of not being around to always see it. He didn't trust Isis alone with Yami for the simple fact that he knew she secretly worshipped him.

What he viewed as her 'Neanderthal rearing' was governed by obsolete crutches such as religion and mysticism, which should have perished once man discovered proper technology. But these ideals were embedded within her and they all stemmed mainly from Yami and what he supposedly was. Kaiba still harbored a few suspicions in all that he had witnessed as well as Yami's still present existence, but those anonymities didn't change how he knew Isis viewed the 'spirit'. She absolutely adored him and it made him sick. How could she still silently worship something that had lost its title, been disproven in some formats and even requested you move on with your life? Isis Ishtar was living in the past and needed an upgrade; Kaiba was willing to offer her that if she was ready to exchange her clubs for guns—to denounce her temperamental barbaric ways in substitute for proper calculated battle tactics. Rallying himself, he played his next few words carefully in order to offer her it in the most nonaggressive vocals, in the most antagonistic way.

"The question isn't what 'we're doing' Isis, but what you want." His eyes stayed glued out the windshield and he inwardly took the small win when Isis' face slackened in shock. Allowing the silence to gobble up the space, Kaiba waited for his opponent to choose their next move.

Fiddling with her hands, Isis' lips pursed before mumbling, "I want you Seto, but I want to be happy with you."

"Happiness is a state of mind one chooses to have; I can't control whether you laugh or cry Isis." Once more Kaiba's tone was nonthreatening but held a certain pinch that moved ones thoughts.

"Hm. This is very true. But does one not get wet while standing in the rain—even when they wish and meditate on a state of being dry?"

He rolled his eyes at such a comparison—a comparison that held promise. "Purchase an umbrella."

She frowned, "Seto…"

"Rather than complain about the rain, why not take precautions on a particularly cloudy day?"

"The sun disappears faster than I can react."

"Are you implying that my influence upon your responsiveness is the equivalent to how man could never truly tame nature or fully predict its patterns?"

"Yes."

A smug smirk slid across his lips. Kaiba was an immovable uncontrollable force for Isis and that's the way he liked it. Something that couldn't be fully controlled or understood, but admired—a thunderstorm full of charged lightning, rumbling thunder and the whisper of hail. He chose whether her skies were bright with light or heavy with clouds—clouds fat in promise. He took in a deep breath to settle his ego as it inflated deep in his chest, puffing the pectorals forward. Before he could stop himself, he grabbed her and pulled her astride his lap. His hands buried themselves in her hair and he forced her lips hard against his. The kiss drove him to growling and his hands wandered down her body, feeling every tantalizing curve that wanted to be claimed by him. His lips sucked along her bottom lip and the released gasp that whispered across his nose made him hold her tighter to him.

"Isis..." The name was mumbled against her lips in a way that connected them in a gentle brush before slowly peeling them apart. Isis followed those drifting lips and Kaiba felt another rumble form in his chest. He wanted her right then, right now, but now was not the time. He needed to make his final move before pressing forward. "Isis..." He braced his forehead against hers and bore his navy vision into her clouded sapphires. "Tell me what you want."

"You." No hesitance and she even leaned in pressing her lips against his.

Kaiba kindly returned the kiss before continuing, "Then eliminate all distractions that keep me from you." Gently but forcefully, he removed her from his person back into the seat. Opening the driver side door, his long legs carried him out and he shut the door. Only for a moment he paused to offer his front lawn quite the autocratic expression before making fast movements towards the front door. This stride turned swaggered upon hearing Isis heavy footsteps in the attempt to catch up with him. Isis Ishtar would always try to catch up with Seto Kaiba, for that's how Kaiba wanted it and would always create such a scenario. He halted at the front door and turned around to find her already look away. "Do you know what I want Isis?" He needed to know that she knew exactly what was needed of her in order to come in.

"Yes, I do." She bit her bottom lip, "He is my friend Seto."

'Like most things,' that snide voice within his head supplied but rather than offer those words, he substituted his own for the sake of the move. "And what am I to you?"

"Very important but—"

"Then I think importance outweighs friendship Isis, it always has."

There was a long pause before she nodded, "Fine. But you also must sacrifice."

"When haven't I?" Unlocking the front door he glided into his foyer with a champion like haze. Isis was his and no one would compromise that. It was what Isis wanted after all, right? He smirked.

Domino University

A bird chirped by and happened to land in the tree Yami was resting under. His back was resting against the bark with both legs before him. The left was bent at the knee, helping in keeping his sketch book lifted as an easel would; the right lye against the grass, rocking back and forth in short movements as if he was agitated. His hair was pulled back with escaped locks framing his focused face. His simple long-sleeved white V-neck T-shirt caught the light flittering through the tree's leaves and the dark fitted jeans disappeared beneath his calve covering combat boots. Many rings covered his fingers; occasionally catching the sun, appearing as captured light along his fingers. His riding jacket, helmet and backpack sat beside him, all gently rustled by the occasional breeze.

The weather had decided to shift since the change into the new month, two weeks ago. Rain had washed over the land, cooling the weather down from the warm days of nineties to that of seventies. This particular day was nice with a cool breeze that didn't demand too much coverage, or any at all depending on your tolerance levels. Since Yami still felt as if he was adjusting to the cooler days, he opted for a long-sleeved shirt, especially for when he rode his bike. Looking out over the Domino University quad, he spotted the happy students pleased with the outdoor weather. A few people were sitting on blankets while others opted for a game of catch. A few were simply studying, reading, sleeping or making out. The ex-Pharaoh did a double-take of the overly affectionate couple as many passersby did. He couldn't imagine being overly affectionate in public. It was absolutely—who was he kidding?

If given the proper lover and opportunity, he'd probably try to suck their face off before an audience. Not as some kinky fetish of others watching but to show it didn't matter who was or wasn't around, they were his—whoever that may be. Garnet orbs took in the picture he had been shading in and he was once more reminded of who that person could be. A woman sat beneath a tree in an empty woodland spot. Her long black hair was curled in an innocent way complementing her sweet yellow dress. Her legs were tucked beneath her and she was shyly looking upon whoever faced her. Yami's pinky rose and he traced that small face before growling and grabbing another colored pencil. He usually wasn't one for coloring in his doodles— at least that's how he saw them —but as usual, Yugi had once more supported something that was beneficial for his mental health. He had claimed it was a thank you gift but Yami took it as more than that.

His little one had returned from Tokyo all aglow a few weeks ago. The week he was supposed to go to the bustling city, Yugi had called him up more than excited at finally finding the perfect gift. Said gift happened to be a handmade music box. It was done in delicate shades of cream, soft pink with gold accents. Whenever it was wound up, the lid would rise smoothly and a small ballerina would come twirling up. Yugi had been lucky enough to not only find the box, but find the last few that played a score from Swan Lake—the first major ballet Tea had ever been a part of. From there, he had the ballerina's once blonde hair made brown as well as the green eyes to blue. The final detail had been a sweet engraving placed within the box done in fancy elegant gold script. He had presented it to Tea after going to her performance and a sushi dinner. Yugi had then told him, with great bashfulness, that she had drawn him into a hug, crying. Tea had confessed she had been waiting from him to tell her how he really felt. Ever since then, the two had been inseparable. Yugi was even planning to apply to Tokyo University so that he could be closer to Tea once he finished up at the community college.

Yami was not only excited for him, but jealous. Here, Yugi, the most bashful of sprites, had been able to tell the girl he loved just how much he did. High-strung Tristan had defeated Duke Devilin in the battle for the hand of Serenity. Even tongue-tied Joey had been able to tie the knot with Mai! Here he was, seen as the most confident of the group of males, and he was not only single but unable to tell Isis how he really felt about her. He colored the picture in more meticulously to take his mind off the thoughts, but as usual, they lingered back around. He had yet to see or speak to Isis since the soccer game. He had called her a few times in weakness but was met with her voicemail. Isis obviously needed time as well as space to come around with her thoughts and feelings. But he couldn't help but feel like the waiting game was for him. The way he had been able to hold her at the game had set his heart on fire. She needed him and he now knew this from that small moment. After weeks of meditation over the issue, he knew it. Isis Ishtar needed her Atem. Yes, her Atem for he would be hers when she was ready.

"Yami."

His head lifted slowly and he finally came in contact with another who had been avoiding him. "Tamiko, hello." His smile was genuine for she did look pretty in the nice weather. Her long china doll style brown hair and sweet smile offset her sassy nature. As expected, her mid-drift was shown from the cut off T and he couldn't help but take in the small petite stomach. He was a man after all and she was showing skin. Nice skin. "How are you?"

"Good? Great? Awesome?" She shrugged, "I guess okay; haven't talked to you since the party." She maneuvered next to him and sat Indian style, "I heard you were a double major now."

"Yes. I was lucky to add a few classes to my list, to assist in my second helping of education." Dr. Kazmi had been such a great help in Yami's added classes. It would really give him a jump start on next semester.

"Is that why I haven't seen you in a while? Or perhaps are you avoiding me?" Tamiko was back to asking blunt questions and he found her brows high, "Well?"

"I've been busy with schoolwork." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth. Yami had attempted to approach Tamiko to apologize for what happened, but she had retreated. It was from there Yami felt yet another woman in his life had been scared away by his brooding behavior. He had let it go at the risk of looking desperate but it seemed Tamiko had been attempting to get him to chase after her. He had no intentions of doing so until he really knew if it was worth it.

"Schoolwork?" She shrugged, "I'll take it. So what happened at the party? Not your scene?" She leaned back on her hands and Yami found the posture odd. He soon realized it was because Isis would never sit such a way—perhaps the arms, but not with the incorporation of Indian style. "Yami, you're staring at me."

Yami caught himself and chuckled, "I apologize. Between work and school, I haven't been accumulating proper rest." Once more not a lie but not the whole truth; Yugi had gone to him with a dilemma in wanting to be in Tokyo more. Yami had quickly offered to take on his shifts at the Kame Game Shop on the weekends since business was usually slow. Everyone was out dueling on the weekends so it still gave him time to study and take in some extra cash. Due to it, he wasn't getting his typical catnaps—caused him to phase out more than his creative mind often did.

"You shouldn't run yourself into the ground." Tamiko shifted forward and rested her hand on his leg. "How about a little R&R?" She winked and he never noticed just how bright her eyes were.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Come on." Jumping up she waited for him to gather up his items. "Do you like waffles Yami?"

"Waffles?" His voice lifted an octave at the idea of the treat.

"Yeah, waffles. The culinary club opened up a waffle shop on campus; heard they'll put almost anything on top of it if you just ask." Turning her eyes to him she gave him a sassy smirk, "If you just ask." He caught the double-entendre and coughed soundly at the blatant flirting.

Not sure how to respond, he went to gather his words to only have them scrambled again. Tamiko linked her arm with his and he couldn't deny the nice sensation from the contact. Maybe the waiting game was indeed just what needed; it offered just enough time to not only see if she'd come around, but to perhaps explore his options a bit more carefully. A girl with long black hair shifted past them and he found his eyes instantly glued to her. Okay, perhaps 'options' was a stretch. But Tamiko was present and obviously into him. Would it really hurt to try and see where things went with her? Not in a rushed invigorated way but in a more subtle friendly manner. Perhaps this would even prove that he needed Isis more than anyone. However, it also posed a threat of his heart being swayed by another. Did Yami wish to be affected by the attentions of another? He looked over at Tamiko and found her already staring at him.

"What?"

"Your eyes; they're very beautiful."

A sense of warm sensation came across Yami's face and he cleared his voice. "I thank you for such a compliment." He was met with a bemused smile and considered 'what if'?

Downtown Domino

Isis lethargically fetched her keys from her purse. Her fingers lay heavy against the cool metal of the keys and she flipped through them to her house key. Gently she placed it in the lock before also clipping back the deadbolt. As soon as she entered she felt all of the energy fade from her. Her posture slouched slightly and the bag once on her should slide down to her elbow. Last night she had stayed too late with Kaiba at his home. He had told her to simply stay the night, but she didn't find it wise with the ways he had been looking at her. Sex was still something she believed their relationship was not ready for. So by the time she laid down after arriving home, she felt her alarm immediately went off. Work had been as demanding however due to construction down the street, her block had lost power. Because the company couldn't let her sector know when the power would be restored, the higher ups had told everyone to go home early. That had been fine by her. Leaving at one had been a wonderful gift but she was still tired regardless of a full day of work or not. Suddenly her phone buzzed loudly in her purse and she sluggishly fetched it, fearing that it was her boss. Grabbing the smart-phone she was not relieved to find it wasn't her boss, but indeed text from Yami. It read:

I do not know what I have done to earn your neglect. But I assume this decision was made with sincerity rather than malice. I will await your return to me.

Isis re-read that final line and felt her heart hiccup ever so slightly. '..To me?' She couldn't deny the idea of returning to Yami did sound promising, but she and Kaiba were finally smoothing things out. Rather than boulder like roadblocks, she had been faced with pebbles. But she would be lying if she didn't say she wished for Yami to contact her. And those scarce phone calls Yami had made to her had done more for her in the past few weeks, than she had ever expected. She suspected he was now her beacon in these dark times. Sure Isis and Kaiba's relationship was doing better but they went from a sports car whizzing around rockslides by day, to a cheap car rumbling along gravel roads by night. Things were slow, murky and foreign. Kaiba was still trying to hide parts of him by cloaking them in meaningless conversation he thought she'd be satisfied with. But Isis wanted a connection, a firm connection—a real connection. A connection that reminded her of—her eyes veered upwards and she jumped ten feet, placing a hand over her heart. "Seto! I told you to make noise if you're ever here."

"You should pay attention," was the surly reply. Said brunet was sitting at her dining room table with a laptop before him. "I'm guessing you all lost power?" His spindly arms rested on the table by his elbows; his fingers laced together with his chin resting there. He appeared thoughtful and envisaged.

"We did." She finished closing the door and moved fully into her living room, "They told us all to leave. What are you doing here?"

"When I heard your block was possibly losing power today, I decided to come here and wait for you."

Isis felt her heart rise slightly, "You came to wait, for me?"

He rolled his eyes, "Whenever Domino does construction, there's no doubt some businesses will be inconvenienced."

Smiling she nodded, "Truly." She moved to the back and put her items away, taking off her shoes. Isis returned to the front and came over to Kaiba, placing her hands on his broad shoulders. "What are you working on?"

He tensed slightly, "A few designs."

Feeling the tensed shoulders she let loose a slight whoosh of air, "Why not face the window? The city is beautiful and alive this time of day." For emphasis, she drew back the dark curtains letting in the sweet light of day. Kaiba immediately changed seats not liking the sun on his back; this little show caused Isis to chuckle. "I suspect you are part vampire Seto Kaiba."

"My investors have accused me of bloodlust."

Once more Isis laughed, thoroughly tickled my Kaiba's wry sense of humor. She settled into a smile and turned to once more face Kaiba, already finding he had been watching her. "What is it Seto?" He appeared very serious and she worried that she might have laughed unbecomingly.

"Nothing." Turning back to is computer, he continued typing on.

Peaking up from the screen he watched her wander from the room. He wouldn't admit that was the first time he had ever heard her laugh like that in months. He had almost forgotten what it sounded like but now the vocals were memorized well within his memory banks. He also wouldn't admit that he wanted to hear it again. However this moment was short lived—why did Isis pause in the doorway? Who texted her? He wasn't stupid, he knew it was Yami. He knew the little bastard wouldn't go down without a fight. Isis was HIS, why was that so hard for Yami to understand? His finger followed a pattern across the expensive piece of technology; controlled by the ego, his calendar appeared and the snide voice within murmured to him. Nodding to no one in particular, Kaiba realized he had a slight pause in the upcoming day. Allowing his fingers to all follow, he added in a bit of text to that open slot.

"I propose we do something and not waste this time we have together." Isis once more returned and wrapped her arms around his neck. This time she was met with no resistance.

"What are you offering?" His voice dropped an octave at any prospect. He knew it wasn't sex but the idea of what he had in store for tomorrow left him slightly worked up with power.

"Indian? Thai? I have been craving something outside of Japanese cuisine." Eyeing the screen she cocked her head to the side, "I thought you and I were going to lunch around that time?"

"Something's come up."

Isis eyed the two o'clock meeting with 'shareholder two'. "I was afraid something like this would occur."

"So did I Isis," came the neutral reply. "But some people need a bit of forceful action to give up what is mine."

"You do not wish for him to have any shares of Kaiba Corporation?"

"Not at all. He improperly handles what belongs to me and thus upsets the flow of my business. But after tomorrow, I don't think I'll have anymore issues."

"I hope all is resolved."

"Me too."


PLEASE READ:

Hello World. I'm still alive! Yeah! I feel like M.I.A is an understatement. I have recently gotten out of school for the summer. I took the last few weeks of school to pass by the skin of my ass, which I actually did but didn't. Instead I got good grades without studying, so it's a weird kind of thing…ANYWAY! Sorry for the lack of review responses. I don't have time at the moment and are sick of holding on to this chapter. So, let me know about how you liked it, hated it, want to kill me…BLAH BLAH BLAH.

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Still Stands: If I don't get one measly review, no new chapter, however if I do get one measly review, new chapter.

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