A/N : Hello! Sorry for the delay in updating. I swear, I have so many good idea's for this story and bloody writers block keeps getting in my way. Anyway, I promise from now on, I'm gonna kick its butt and get serious with this. So, as you can probably guess, I've been working on this chapter for a while, and have re-written it about three times, so I hope its up to good standards. As ever, that is for you to judge. Any constructive criticism is happily received! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer : I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! :-(

Chapter Nine

Yukiko gazed at her appearance with wide eyes. Her first thought upon seeing her reflection was that she brushed up well. The dress fell to the floor, hugging to the curvature of her body until her hips. The neckline was modest and cut in a straight line across to the sleeves which started just below the shoulders. She'd forced herself to wear a little make-up, but had kept it very neutral, refusing to go over the top. Her hair hung loosely down her back and over her shoulders. She liked her appearance, despite how uncomfortable the heeled shoes were. She looked like a lady, rather than the girl she was used to being. Despite reassuring herself she looked okay, Yukiko couldn't force the nerves down. Knowing she had to be seen by people while dressed like this made her nervous. No, nervous was an understatement. She was terrified. She knew how important this event was to Kaiba. She'd known him long enough to tell this was an opportunity for the young business man. He'd told her as much too. What had he said, 'it would be a perfect excuse to meet the opposition and many other companies'. Yukiko had a suspicious feeling the evening would be a chance to show off to the other companies. Part of her imagined there would be a gigantic life sized ice sculpture of a blue eyes white dragon or something to that degree. That would really be impressive and not to mention intimidating. Would he do that? Would Kaiba try and intimidate the competitors? Yukiko wasn't sure. She wasn't sure she wanted to find out. Without realizing, Yukiko had started to pace back and forth across her old bedroom. In truth, she hadn't been in here since Kaiba and the rest of the gang had saved her. It was strange been back in the room where nightmares had once plagued her. There was a knock on the door which brought her thoughts to a complete stop as her mind crashed back into reality. She gulped, hesitating to answer.

"Y…yes?" She whispered her stutter in the hopes the person on the other side of the door wouldn't hear. Could she pretend to be asleep? No, she had to do this. The door opened confirming what she dreaded. Kaiba was stood there; he walked into the room, his face serious. Yukiko took in his appearance and smiled. She was used to seeing him in a suit, but this one looked fancier somehow. It was jet black in colour, with matching trousers. His shirt was crisp white and his tie as black as the suit with the Kaiba Corp logo embellished on the end. There was no doubt he was Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp, with this suit on. Kaiba smirked at her, seeing her examining his appearance. Yukiko blushed instantly.

"I like your tie," She muttered, sure her face was bright red by now.

"ah-ha" He replied still grinning at her. Yukiko forced her gaze away determinedly wishing she didn't blush so easily. She hated how easy it was for him to cause her face to transform into a tomato. There was an interlude of silence between the pair as Yukiko worked and failed on getting her glowing face under control. She was finding it increasingly difficult under the man's intense eyes. She was about to request he look away so she could get a hold of herself when he moved forwards. He placed his fingers under her chin and forced her face up to meet his eyes. His expression had changed his smile softer as he examined her. Without a word, he leant forwards and gently brushed his lips against hers, causing the air to catch in Yukiko's throat. He straightened back up and took hold of her hand.

"Ready?" He asked Yukiko, his business tone back in place, although the sternness of it was compromised by the intimate action of his fingers twisting between hers.

"Yes," Yukiko replied, not truly certain she was. Without another word, he guided her out of the room. Mokuba was waiting in the corridor for them. He grinned seeing them. He too was wearing a suit, in fact one almost the exact same as Kaiba's, except this one had been paired with a patterned tie. They walked in comfortable silence along the hallway and down the stairway. In the entrance hall, Yukiko could already hear the sound of chatter emanating from what she presumed would be the dining hall. She quickly gave the Kaiba Mansion entrance hall a once over, searching for any giant ice sculptures. Mokuba noticed her do so.

"What are you looking for, Yukiko?" He asked confused. Yukiko blushed; surprised her not so sneaky examination had been caught.

"I… uh… I thought there may be… might have been an… an ice sculpture," She replied, embarrassed. Clearly she'd been using her overly active imagination to the full. Mokuba laughed and Kaiba himself smirked. Yukiko looked away, her face red – again.

"Never mind," She muttered embarrassed. Kaiba squeezed her fingers.

"That's not a half bad idea," He spoke as they made their way across the floor towards the hall which would lead to the dining hall. Yukiko glanced up at Kaiba, hoping he would give her some incline as what to expect at their destination. Unfortunately, the man gave nothing away. Yukiko knew she'd seen the room only two days ago, but so much could have changed since then. He could have ordered a giant cake in the shape of a blue eyes white dragon for all she knew. In fact, that would be kind of cool, however it would seem a shame to eat it. Yukiko forced her brain to stop. She was thinking at overtime and coming up with more and more ridiculous ideas as she went. She needed to keep calm and not over react.

"You haven't ordered a giant dragon cake have you?" Yukiko asked before she could stop herself. Kaiba looked at her his eyebrow raised. Again, Mokuba burst out laughing at her question.

"Sorry, I'm a little nervous, I guess," Yukiko muttered apologetically. They reached the closed door and stopped. Kaiba turned to gaze at her amused.

"Don't be." He replied simply, his face turning serious as he prepared. He turned back, his fingers slipping out from between Yukiko's. She understood. He needed to remain his stern and sometimes scary self in front of the competition, which again lead her mind back into wondering what to expect from the room she was about to enter. The door was opened from inside and they stepped inside.

Yukiko gazed around surprised. It was minimalistic. There were two dozen tables scattered across the room, each covered with a white table cloth and supporting a sort of decoration in the centre. As the three of them were guided across the room, under the eyes of every single person in the room, Yukiko could see them in closer detail. It was with a grin she realised they were all detailed replicas of duel monster characters. She recognised Saggi the Dark Clown, La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp, Kaiser Sea Horse and many more. Her eyes drifted over the room seeing waiters and waitresses stood against the walls at intervals, all dressed in a white shirt with black tie and trousers. There was also the security team stood at the far end of the room, again all dressed in uniform, arms crossed over there front as they watched the scene with stern emotionless eyes. Yukiko recognised Kenta and had to force herself not to wave. Then she noticed the table at the very end of the room, almost out of the way. She recognised the monster on their table along with the group sat around it. It was the Dark Magician and sat around it, all dressed for the occasion, were Yugi, Joey, Téa, Tristan and Ryo. Yukiko beamed at them as they waved enthusiastically at her. She waved back before she realised how it would look. She withdrew her hand from the air rather hurriedly and continued walking, forcing her cheeks to cool down. She wondered why Kaiba had invited the gang, remembering how he'd reacted when Joey had tried to 'decorate' for the occasion. It was when she examined his expression she realised he hadn't invited them. She glanced at Mokuba and saw him grinning a little too happily and realised it was him who'd invited them. They reached their table and sat down on almost arm chair like seats. Yukiko settled down in the seat, revelling in how comfortable the seat was and how contented she was to be off her feet. Heels were proving difficult to stay standing in. As the room seemed to come alive again as people continued conversations they had previously been involved in, Kaiba turned to Mokuba who was sat on his left, like usual.

"Why are the Geek squad here?" He demanded in a hushed tone. Yukiko glanced at Mokuba who was looking rather pleased with himself. Yukiko wondered exactly when the younger Kaiba brother had decided to stop been the completely fond and doting brother to change into one who wanted to wind the other up. She remembered him doing the same sort of things before she'd got her memory back. Like the incident with the snowballs. The memories made her grin.

"I thought it would be fun to have some friends over for your Birthday, Seto," Mokuba beamed. Kaiba was about to respond with what was likely to be something along the lines of 'they're not my friends' but Mokuba interrupted him before he could even begin.

"They're also here to help support Yukiko!" He added brightly. Kaiba sat back in his chair examining his brother. He knew his brother liked Yugi and his cheerleaders but he never expected Mokuba to pull a stunt like this, without his permission. He wanted to smile to himself, but forced it back.

"They are your responsibility. If any of them screw up, it's on you, Mokuba." Kaiba muttered pinching the bridge of his nose. He let his hand drop and gazed between Yukiko and Mokuba,

"You two will be the death of me," He muttered just as the scent of food drifted into the room.

The food was exquisite. Yukiko realised while eating the tiny but mouth wateringly delicious food that Kaiba had hired one of the best chef's in the country, if not the world. It wouldn't have surprised her if that was actually true. During the meal, Yukiko took the opportunity to examine the table. She wasn't surprised to see the monster in the centre of their table was of course, the blue eyes white dragon. Its detailing was fantastic. She placed her cutlery down and took a sip of red wine from the crystal glass before her. It tasted sharp. She tried not to pull a face as she placed it back down. The room was strangely quiet, with only a small amount of talking, although she could say without a doubt most of the noise was coming from a particular table at the back of the hall.

"I knew there would be a dragon somewhere," Yukiko muttered before picking up her cutlery again. Kaiba allowed himself to briefly smile at her.

"So, who's here?" Yukiko asked. They had a table all to themselves, but there were another twenty four each with eight people sat around them. There were a lot of people here. Kaiba placed his knife and fork down, taking a sip from his own glass.

"They are mostly the owners of other acclaimed businesses around the world. I will warn you now; I have invited a few news reporters." He spoke quietly as to avoid been over heard. Yukiko stared at him surprised.

"Why?" She asked incredulously.

"Better to invite them than have them sneak in." he replied. Yukiko suddenly felt all the more nervous. Kaiba noticed the change in her.

"The invitation was for the executive of the business and one top reporter from each news company only." Kaiba muttered

Once the last of the plates were cleaned away, the room became much louder as people began to speak again. Yukiko sat back feeling content with her meal just as Kaiba stood up. He quickly caught the attention of the rest of the room. He waited for them all to fall silent before speaking.

"I would like to thank you for attending this evening," Kaiba spoke in his usual tone. The entire room was silent as all eyes and ears were focused upon the host of the evening.

"In front of each of you is a small envelope." Kaiba continued. Yukiko glanced across the table and noticed for the first time a little white envelope propped up against the monster centre piece. Yukiko took hold of the envelope and examined it. It was slightly bigger than the size of a credit card.

"I would like you to open it," Kaiba spoke aloud. Yukiko did as instructed and carefully opened up the paper and pulled out what looked like a duel monster card. The design on the back certainly matched the cards she was familiar with. Yukiko flipped the card over and saw it wasn't a typical duel monster card. Where the image of the monster would usually be, was the Kaiba Corp's logo. Underneath, where the description would usually be found was an invitation of sorts

You have been invited to witness the new era of Duelling.

Kaiba Corporation is proud to launch the new Duel Disk System Extreme

The unveiling of this new and much improved system shall be demonstrated with a brand new tournament, to be held at Kaiba Land.

With this invite, you can either be treated as a VIP to watch as the battles commence OR you can participate in the tournament and experience the Duel Disk Extreme for yourself.

"The tournament will begin on the first of January in the new year," Kaiba spoke after giving the room a couple of minutes to read through the impressive invite. Without another word, Kaiba sat back down as chatter erupted loudly around the room. Yukiko grinned at him, impressed. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"I seem to keep forgetting you're a genius," She replied quietly.

"Explain?" He asked although, Yukiko was sure he knew what she meant.

"Inviting the media so you can get the world talking about your new tournament." Yukiko smiled. He grinned at her in response.

"Maybe," He replied.

"Yeah, pretty good thinking Seto," Mokuba beamed at his brother. There was the respect the younger of the two held so dearly for his sibling.

"I'm going to go speak to Yugi," Mokuba announced suddenly and before Kaiba could stop him, he'd jumped up and rushed over to the table supporting the Dark Magician.

"You received an invite too," Kaiba pointed out, relaxing in his chair. Yukiko looked down and examined the card still in her hands. She had wondered if this was the tournament he'd told her she should participate in. Now knowing everyone here, including Yugi and Joey, had been invited made her regret her decision to say she would enter. If she came up against Yugi, she'd lose within the first three turns.

"Mr Kaiba, I don't believe we've been formerly introduced," A voice spoke jolting Yukiko out of her thoughts. She glanced up. There was a man stood over their table, his hand outstretched to Kaiba. He was a very attractive man, and looked European. His hair was golden in colour and his eyes a dark rich brown. He wore a black linen suit with a white shirt and a rich golden tie that shimmered in the light. In the breast pocket on his jacket, a golden handkerchief poked out. The buttons on his jacket were embellished with a golden symbol that Yukiko couldn't make out. Overall, his appearance was a little too flashy and gave Yukiko the impression he would have a large ego. Kaiba stood up to greet the new comer formerly. He took the man's hand and shook it. It seemed friendly enough, but Yukiko couldn't help wondering if there hadn't been some tension in the gesture.

"Mr Julian Gold, managing director and sole owner of Gold Industries," Kaiba spoke. It wasn't a question; he already knew who the man was. Yukiko presumed it was his business to know as much as he could about the opposition.

"The one and the same," The man called Julian Gold confirmed, "May I sit?" He asked gesturing to Mokuba's vacated seat. Without a word, Kaiba gestured to the chair, giving the man permission. He sat down promptly and it was then Yukiko realised she recognised the name. Gold Industries, she'd seen the name or heard it recently. Within a split second it came back to her. She'd picked up one of their products in the shop and looked at it while out searching for a gift for Kaiba. What had Mokuba called it? An RPG, that must be what they specialised in, Games like Kaiba corp. Then she remembered the article she'd read on the front of Kaiba's newspaper. They were big. They'd done some deal with Industrial illusions and were now considered the main competitor for Kaiba Corp.

"Mr Kaiba, I can't tell you what an honour it is to meet you. It was your success as a gaming company that inspired me to start my own," Gold spoke sincerely. The look on Kaiba's face never faltered.

"You make the RPG's don't you?" Yukiko asked suddenly. Julian Gold turned his eyes upon her and smiled.

"Miss Yukiko, I presume?" He asked.

"Yes, nice to meet you," She replied bowing her head slightly, a little unnerved as to how he knew who she was, but again he probably made it his business to know.

"Likewise, but you're absolutely correct, we do pride ourselves on the detail we put into our Role Playing Games, each story is well thought out and tested. What with our fairly recent contract with Industrial Illusions, I've been able to combine two of my greatest passions, Duel monsters and RPG's. In fact, I did come to this evening in the hope of suggesting combining my brilliance with Mr Kaiba's Genius and creating the ultimate RPG gaming experience for gamers everywhere," Gold spoke with passion and clear pride for his creation. He launched into a business proposal that sounded all too complicated and technical for Yukiko to follow. She was relieved when Téa arrived promptly at the table to whisk her away. Yukiko stood up and quietly excused herself from the table, but it appeared the two business men were too immersed in their discussion to notice. As Téa lead the way through the room, winding between the tables she smiled at Yukiko.

"Sorry, but it looked like you needed an escape," she smiled, half laughing. Yukiko nodded.

"Yes, thank you. I'm not sure I'm cut out for all this business talk," Yukiko admitted as they reached the table where the rest of the group was sat chatting away and laughing.

Joey jumped up seeing her approach and grinned his usual signature grin. Yukiko could see he'd made the effort to dress up for the evening, wearing his own suit, although the shirt was untucked and his blue tie slack.

"Hey Yukiko!" He cried out waving, attracting the attention of other guests at nearby tables. Yukiko smiled back.

"Hey, Joey! Everyone!" She beamed as she reached the table and took a seat next to Téa's.

"Man, I'm starved, those food portions were miniature!" Tristan sighed looking longingly at the empty table.

"Me too, what's with these tiny portions?" Joey complained collapsing back into his seat.

"You two are always hungry!" Téa scolded jokily. Yugi smiled and leant forwards.

"Who is that man Kaiba's talking to?" He asked interestedly. Yukiko glanced back over towards the two men. She smiled seeing the usual expression on Kaiba's face.

"He's called Julian Gold, He owns Gold Industries," Yukiko informed.

"Really?" Ryo asked leaning forwards in his seat to get a better look.

"Yeah, they do RPG's." Yukiko explained, "What is an RPG, though. I've never played one," Yukiko added her cheeks turning rosy.

"Oh, a Role Playing Game is a lot of fun! You take on a character role with certain abilities and skills and act out a story line!" Ryo exclaimed before anyone else had chance.

"Maybe we could play one some time?" Yukiko suggested getting interested in the idea. There was an awkward pause around the table, which confused Yukiko and from the look on Mokuba's face, it confused him too.

"What's wrong Yugi?" Mokuba asked breaking the silence. Yugi glanced around at Ryo who was staring at his feet.

"It was that Bastard, the spirit of the millennium ring!" Joey exclaimed. Yukiko supressed a shudder at the thought of the evil spirit, which had possessed Ryo for what hadn't been the first time and who had tried to destroy the world by corrupting her soul. It wasn't a pleasant memory.

"Please, forget I said anything. I didn't want to bring up bad memories for you," Yukiko spoke her face turning red.

"No, it's okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spoil the mood," Ryo spoke looking up and smiling sweetly. The group quickly launched into an explanation of the first game they'd ever played together shortly after meeting Ryo Bakura for the first time after he'd transferred to their school, Domino high. Yukiko listened with interest, which turned to shock. Upon players losing their life points, the spirit had transferred their souls into the game pieces. If she hadn't have experienced her own brush with the spirits magic, she wouldn't have believed it possible. She was so immersed in their story telling, she didn't notice someone walk up behind her.

"What are you geeks talking about?" A voice demanded interrupting the conversation. Yukiko nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around in her seat, her heart pounding.

"Happy Birthday, Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed recovering rather quickly from the interruption. Kaiba's expression didn't change from the greeting.

"This evening is important, not that you dweebs would know what that means, but if any one of you screw this up, I swear I'll make you regret it," He threatened rather harshly, although there was a softer tone underneath it all.

"Whatever money bags, we'll behave," Joey exclaimed.

"Yeah, of course, Kaiba. We don't want to cause you any trouble," Yugi said kindly.

"We brought you presents!" Yugi added enthusiastically, pointing to an empty seat which did contain a couple of brightly wrapped boxes upon it. Yukiko couldn't hold back a massive grin as she tried to guess what Kaiba's reaction would be. She examined his face and indeed he did for a split second seem taken a back, but he replaced his expression with his usual stern one in an instant. He folded his arms and smirked at the group.

"I don't need anything from you nerds," He spoke scathingly, but then added a small but noticeable "Thank you," on to the end.

With one movement, he gestured at Yukiko to come with him and he guided her away from the table. Yukiko grinned back at the group, giving them thumbs up as she went. They wound in between the tables, stopping at intervals for Kaiba to exchange a few words with guests. When Yukiko found themselves relatively alone, she turned to Kaiba and spoke.

"How was your conversation with Mr Gold?" Yukiko asked, remembering to use her manners. In fact, she'd sounded so unlike herself as she'd asked the question; Kaiba actually glanced at her amusement dancing in his eyes.

"What?" She asked blushing under his gaze

"You've never spoken like that before," He commented as a waiter walked by a tray in his hand supporting several crystal flutes filled with some sort of pale gold liquid. Kaiba took two glasses off as he walked by and passed one over to Yukiko, who took it tentatively.

"Well, I'm been business-y," Yukiko replied gazing down at the bubbly liquid, understanding instantly what it was.

"Appropriate for this type of event," Kaiba commented coming to a stop and facing Yukiko.

"And to answer your question, it was interesting. Mr Julian Gold has some challenging ideas. He wants to combine his games with holograms." Kaiba lowered his voice to explain the rival company's proposal.

"That sounds interesting," Yukiko commented, imagining a game in which a whole imaginary world came to life.

"Yes, but it would require creating a whole new holographic design, very unlike the duel disks we already have exceled in producing. It would be like starting from scratch. Besides, I'm not sure if I want my company to go into the marketing of role playing games." He continued his eyes scanning the room. Yukiko wasn't sure what to say to this. Of course the idea sounded fun and challenging, but she could see Kaiba's side to it. Why go off on a tangent when they were already top of their game?

"Oh," was all she could reply with. She lifted the tall glass to her lips and took a sip of the liquid. It tasted strange and the bubbles exploded instantly in her mouth. It didn't take her long to decide she didn't like it very much. Kaiba looked round at her.

"What do you think?" He asked

"It's very bubbly…" Yukiko replied, trying her best not to pull a face. Kaiba smirked at her.

"I meant Gold's proposal." He replied clearly trying not to chuckle at her confusion. In an instant, Yukiko felt her face grow hot with embarrassment at her mistake.

"Oh… erm… I uh… I guess so." Yukiko stuttered trying to overcome her mistake, "I mean, I can see your point. Why start from the beginning in a new project when you're already… accomplished," Yukiko spoke quietly, unsure why he was asking her thoughts. She wasn't good at this stuff; she hadn't been a child prodigy like him. Surely he would make his decision without her help.

"That's good," He replied taking a sip of his drink. "Your opinion matters to me," He spoke, his face completely serious.

"Mmm, Kaiba boy, it's been a long time," A voice spoke from behind them. Yukiko started, surprised to hear someone so close. They both turned around to see a man stood there, grinning. The man was similar in height to Kaiba. He had long silvery hair and wore a red suit. Yukiko was sure she recognised him.

"Pegasus," Kaiba said curtly.

"Come now, Kaiba boy, no need to be so formal. And you are, my dear?" The man called Pegasus asked. Of course she recognised him! She'd met him on her first day working at Kaiba Corp. He'd been the man who Kaiba had been speaking to when she'd walked into the office without knocking. Not only that, he was Maximillian Pegasus, owner of Industrial Illusions.

"Oh, I'm Yukiko," She spoke, realising his eyes were on her waiting for an introduction.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, my dear," He spoke taking her hand and kissing it. Yukiko felt her cheeks flare up at the gesture and had to really force her blushing to a minimum. When the man called Pegasus straightened back up, his eyes directed towards Kaiba.

"I knew you were a man of many talents, Kaiba boy, but how did you manage to land such a sweet girl?" He asked.

"Is there something I can help you with, Pegasus?" Kaiba asked rather sternly.

"Why yes, I was just coming over to remind you our original contract is due for renewal next month," Pegasus spoke, not perturbed at all by Kaiba's stern tone. Yukiko watched on with interest.

"I haven't forgotten," Kaiba nodded.

"Very good Kaiba boy, till next time," The man spoke and nodded at them both before walking off. Yukiko looked up at Kaiba and supressed a laugh at his stern expression.

"Contract?" She asked interested. Kaiba turned his blue eyes upon her and relaxed a little.

Kaiba opened his mouth to presumably explain, but was cut off. A fire ball punched its way through the wall at the far end of the room as an explosion erupted with a powerful blast sending broken pieces of brick showering down upon the room.