Rajata's Condo

Rajata leaned against her front door; the tears were rolling down her eyes. The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, that was controlling Yugi's body, approached her. He laid a hand on her shoulder and pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms around her in a comforting, friendly way. "Just ignore him Miss Rajata; I'm sure he didn't mean what he said."

Rajata shook her head and pulled away from Yugi's embrace. "Thanks but I could care less. These tears aren't for him really but more for the time I wasted on him and the secrets I word vomited last night. I just can't believe that I didn't see this before. He's such a dog." Rajata led Yugi up into her studio. 'If this is all he cares about then fine; the sooner I am done, the sooner he goes away for good. I work better when I'm angry.' Rajata took up her pencil and began to sketch again.

The spirit took up a seat in beside her and studied the Millennium Dagger. "Where did you get this?"

Rajata never took her eyes off the painting. "A man named Shadi appeared out of nowhere in Kaiba's office. He told me that it was a Millennium Item and he would come back to me when I was alone. I have no idea when that will be so I thought to call you….I mean Yugi."

The spirit smiled. "You can call me Yami if that helps."

Rajata paused to retrieve her paints. She remembered that she left her canvas bag in Seto's office so she had to get the new ones out of her supply closet. She returned to her painting. "Is that your name Yami?"

Yami looked up at Rajata. "I don't know my name; I don't know anything about my past except I am connected to ancient Egypt in some way." Yami returned his gaze to the dagger and studied the eye on the handle. "I have never heard of this item."

Rajata turned in her seat and looked at Yami. "Shadi said it is a Millennium Item."

Yami nodded and handed it to Rajata. "I understand but I was told there were only seven. Those seven were: the puzzle, the eye, the rod, the ring, the necklace, the key, and the scale. I only know the holders of two and their powers. The puzzle of course is mine which I don't fully understand yet. Maximillion Pegasus owned the eye but after his defeat at Duelist Kingdom it was stolen from him. The location and powers of the others, I don't know." Yami quickly turned his head to the door.

Shadi appeared there and Rajata jumped to her feet. The man seemed to come from thin air. "What are you doing here? How do you keep coming out of nowhere?" Rajata let some of her anger fly towards Shadi for just appearing in her house, uninvited.

Shadi bowed towards Yami. "My Pharaoh, it is an honor to be in your presence. I apologize for startling you. My Millennium Key allows me to travel through the world."

Rajata furrowed her brows and sat back down. 'So now that makes three items accounted for; Shadi holds the Millennium Key which apparently allows him to warp or whatever. It also did that mind trick thing.' Rajata returned to her painting as she talked. "So why are you here, Shadi?"

Yami nodded in agreement. "Have you come to tell us about new Millennium Item?"

Shadi bowed slightly. "Yes my Pharaoh. I wanted to take this opportunity while the two of you are together."

Yami crossed his legs and picked the dagger up off the floor where Rajata had dropped it. "I thought that there were only seven Millennium Items."

Shadi nodded. "The Millennium Dagger you hold in your hand, my Pharaoh, is a special item. It was created separate from the others; in fact it was kept secret for most of history. It is a very dangerous and powerful item. It was given to the protector of the Pharaoh during the direst of times."

Rajata paused mid stroke. "The protector, what does that have to do with me?"

Shadi looked over to Rajata. "You are the reincarnation of the great protector, Sikah."

Rajata stared wide eyed at Shadi then giggled. "I'm no protector or guardian. You mean to tell me I protected Yami here?"

Yami giggled as well. "I would seem that way. What power does this hold Shadi?"

Shadi held his hand out for the dagger and Yami handed it to him. Shadi held it in his hand and called out a word. The dagger elongated and became a thin sword of about four feet. Rajata stared at her weapon. "The great Pharaoh created this during the time that the Dark One tried to over through him and control the world. It was given to his protector, his most trusted friend, for she was the strongest and the most loyal; little did he know that Sikah was in love with his rival, the high priest. The power that was entrusted to Sikah was great but also very dark. This blade is unbreakable, making it a highly useful weapon for battle. The power it holds is also permanent."

Yami nodded. "What was the power exactly?"

Shadi closed his eyes then looked at the blade. "The power held in this blade can bring even the most lost soul back from the shadow realm."

Rajata went back to painting. "The shadow realm? Sounds like a perfect vacation spot." She said sarcastically.

Yami looked over to Rajata. "The shadow realm is a dangerous place. With a Millennium Item, you can send someone's soul there and they will be trapped forever. Only that same person can bring the soul back."

Shadi nodded. "That is normally correct, my Pharaoh. Only with the Millennium Blade can you bring back any soul regardless of what item sent it to the shadow realm. It also has one darker power."

Rajata smiled and stopped painting. Surprisingly she had flown through the work on the princess and was done. She picked it up and placed it on a hanger on the wall. "The shadow realm does sound awful. What is this other power?"

Shadi closed his eyes again. "This blade as the power to revive the dead."

Rajata and Yami both gasped. "That is dangerous, why did I create such a thing?" Yami asked

Shadi looked to Yami. "You made it in case you had perished in the fight. There was no one else who could've saved the world, except you. Sikah knew that but she a made a slight modification to the blade once it was in her control."

Rajata piped up, "What did she do?"

Shadi turned his attention to Rajata. "She asked the high priest to change the power of revival. He made to where, if it was used to revive the dead, the user would have to endure a trial. The person would be brought back to life and in return the user would be sent to the shadow realm to undergo some sort of trial."

"What sort of trial?" Rajata asked.

Shadi shook his head. "I am not sure since the power was never used. Though I would speculate that it was horrible as well as extremely difficult; I would fathom a guess that the trial must be complete in order to escape the shadow realm."

Rajata remained quiet and stared at the blade. 'This Millennium Blade or Dagger is quite an interesting weapon. I've never been one to believe in magic but I just watched Yugi let a spirit take over his body. Oh and not to mention the man that keeps appearing out of thin air. I guess I really won't know if these powers are the real thing until I use them and I don't plan on using them anytime soon. I guess though I should keep the blade on me at all times just in case.' Rajata was pulled out of her thoughts when she remembered something. "What did you mean I was loyal until the high priest came along?"

Shadi looked over at Rajata. "The legend goes that Sikah was the most loyal guard in the Pharaoh's palace. The high priest and Sikah met and fell in love almost immediately. The high priest of course was the Pharaoh's rival. They would duel each other over power over the kingdom. Naturally Sikah was torn between the love of her life and the life she pledged to protect. When the war started, Sikah choose to change her allegiance and protected the priest's life. The Pharaoh was hurt badly and Sikah was thrown into jail to await her death sentence. No one knows what happened after that."

Rajata looked to Yami then back at Shadi. "That is all you know about Sikah?"

Shadi nodded. "That is all I know and it is all from stories. There is someone else who would be able to tell you more but she is not anywhere near Domino. "

Rajata nodded. "Can I ask you one more thing Shadi?" Shadi waited for the question but before she asked it, he made the blade retract. "Who was the high priest?"

Shadi looked at Rajata. "I know the answer to your question but I am unable to tell it to you."

Rajata looked to Yami; her eyes were pleading for the answer. Yami looked to Shadi. "Please tell us Shadi; it is only fair since you piqued our interest."

Shadi backed up; he appeared torn. Rajata chimed in, smiling wide. "You can't deny a request from you Pharaoh, now could you?" Yami laughed.

Shadi bowed. "Of course not, my Pharaoh; the high priest and your rival was name Seth, you know him today as Seto Kaiba."

Rajata felt her heart catch and she closed her eyes. 'You mean to tell me in ancient times I was in love with him? How can this be? Does this mean that we are destined to wind up together, but if that's true then I'll wind up betraying Yugi in the future? I don't want to betray a friend like Yugi; he hasn't done anything to me. Now I can see why Sikah had a hard time deciding what to do. I've never been one to believe much in destiny but I do at least pay attention to what happens. I hope I'll be ready to make that decision in the future, and that Yugi doesn't get hurt by that decision.'

Yami said his goodbyes to Shadi. Before Shadi vanished he had one final word for Rajata. "Rajata, you are the only one that can properly wield that blade. If the Millennium Blade were to fall into the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic. You must never let the blade out of your sight. There is something I did not mention: with every drop of blood cast onto that blade, it will grow more powerful. You must never let your heart wonder into the evil of the shadow realm. Always remain pure in your intentions when using the blade. Never use it for revenge for it will drag you into madness." Shadi disappeared as the last word was spoken.

Yami looked to Rajata. "So Kaiba was the high priest. He would never believe that." He stood up and walked to the door. "I should really go Rajata." Yugi had switched places with Yami. "I told my grandpa that I would be back by noon and it is already one. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Rajata waved her goodbyes and heard the front door close behind Yugi. She stared at the blade a moment longer before returning to her work. Within four hours, she completed the two renderings of the kingdom. The inside of the castle and the outside courtyards were fully painted. Rajata placed the canvases onto hooks and went to retrieve a few silk white sheets. She brought out a dryer from the supply closet and hooked it up to dry the paintings. While they were drying, Rajata went into the bathroom and took a hot shower. The water melted away her prior anger. 'I need to deliver those paintings. I think I'll just drop them off in the lobby and leave.' Rajata finished her shower and put her tights and dress back on after getting new undergarments. She put a little makeup on and smiled at herself in the mirror. Suddenly she had an idea. 'This will put a thorn in Kaiba's side.' Rajata thought evilly as she pulled her phone out and dialed a number.

"Hello?" a man said in a heavy Brooklyn accent.

"Hey Joey, this is Rajata I was wondering if you would like to go out tonight with me?"

Joey held his breath; Rajata could tell he was stunned. "Sure Rajata, should I come pick you up?"

"No that's okay. I will come get you. If you don't mind I need your help with something before we go to dinner." Rajata wedged the phone in between her shoulder and put the dryer back into the closet. It was slow work but Rajata wrapped each canvas in a silk sheet and walked them down one by one to her car. After they were all packed away she placed the presenting stands into her car, she was not sure if she would need them but she would give Seto Kaiba the presentation of a lifetime. Rajata jumped into her car and drove to Joey's apartment. Joey was waiting by the curb and jumped into her car.

"Hey Rajata, what's this errand we need to do?" Joey smiled widely as he put on the safety belt.

Rajata negotiated back into traffic and headed to Kaiba Corp. "Those paintings in the back need to be delivered to your favorite person in the world, and it is too big a task for just me."

Joey growled softly and looked out the window. "As long as he keeps his comments to himself or I'll have to teach him a lesson."

Rajata laughed and approached the exit to downtown. "Go right ahead."

"You and Kaiba aren't friends anymore I take it." Joey asked with excitement in his voice.

Rajata glanced over at the man. "We aren't really on speaking terms anymore. Let's just say he made some rude remarks to Yugi and I don't appreciate that."

Joey nodded and looked at the approaching behemoth of Kaiba Corp. "Yugi said that he came over and saw you on the phone. He didn't mention anything about Kaiba's sleazy ass."

Rajata frowned small. 'Naturally Yugi didn't, what happened was between me and Kaiba; he really is a good friend.' Rajata parked her car outside the lobby and got out. "Well it's a long story and I just hope that he is in a meeting or something that we don't have to run into him." Rajata handed her keys to the attendant and told him that she needed to unload before he moved the car. "Wait here Joey; I'm going to see if we can get some help." Rajata walked into the lobby and up to the attractive secretary. "Excuse me; I'm here to drop off some paintings for Mr. Kaiba. Is it possible that I can get some help to take it up to his office?"

The woman smiled and nodded. She called over some of the guards and they walked out to the car. "Miss, I will call Mr. Kaiba and let him know you are dropping them off. He should be in his office."

"He doesn't have any meetings today?" Rajata asked, hoping.

The woman shook her head. "No ma'am, he doesn't have anything scheduled. He wasn't even supposed to come in but he stormed right in. He was in a very foul mood so I would watch your back."

Rajata thanked the woman and cursed under her breath. 'This will be interesting.' Rajata returned to the car and found Joey waiting with the guards. "Alright boys, if each of you will take a painting and very carefully carry it; try to only hold on to the edges okay. I'll take the extra stands." Rajata followed the guards in the back of procession beside Joey.

No one made a sound until they arrived at Kaiba's office door. It was open and waiting the delivery. The guards sat the paintings against the wall beside her easel. Rajata closed the door behind them when they left. "Rajata I didn't expect to see you today I wanted to….Wheeler? What the fuck are you doing here? Why did my security allow such vermin into my building?"

Joey growled and placed the painting he was carrying carefully down. He then walked up to Seto and stood right in his face. "What did you say you obnoxious ass?"

Rajata ignored the two boys yelling match and started to unpack her paintings. She hung both of the volcano pieces onto the wall and the forest realms next them. She started to put together her stands and tuned back into the boys argument while she worked.

"Maybe next time you choose to duel in the big leagues, Wheeler, you won't need your boyfriend to hold your hand through the entire thing. Why don't you grow a pair and duel for yourself or are you that worthless?" Seto Kaiba said while crossing his arms and looking out the window.

Joey looked about ready to throw down. "Want to say that to my face? At least a woman would want to date me, why would they ever want to date you besides for cash? I bet your dick isn't nothing to call home about to the only reason a girl would want you is to get paid. You're nothing but a no-it-all rich boy with daddy issues. People like you don't even deserve to know anyone as nice as Rajata!"

Rajata's eyebrows rose. 'So their entire little squabble is now over me? Wow I would feel flattered if it wasn't for the rising nervousness. I always feel like this when people see my artwork for the first time. Too bad Seto is on my naughty list; I just can't wait until he is out of my life for good after this.' Rajata set up the two stands and began unwrapping the paintings. She set up the snow region and then the desert right beside that one. Finally she unwrapped the two kingdom paintings. Rajata placed the final painting of the princess on the stand but left the sheet overtop of it.

The boys were still in each other's face as she turned around. Right when Joey was going to throw a punch at Kaiba, Rajata whistled. Both boys stopped and turned to look at her. She was holding one of the white sheets up to block the paintings from view. "Good now that I have your attention boys, I present to you MR. Kaiba your paintings." Rajata dropped the sheet and stepped to the side.

Joey's jaw dropped. "Wow, Rajata I didn't know you were so talented. They look amazing."

Seto didn't say a word. He walked up to the paintings, inspecting each one in turn. The room fell deathly silent as he moved from piece to piece. When he reached the still cover princess he stopped and looked into Rajata's eyes. Her heartbeat quickened again, she yearn for him without knowing it. "What is this one?" Seto asked, pointing at the covered picture. Rajata smiled and uncovered the princess. The princess was a young girl, with long black hair and a kind smile. She wore a beautiful white and light blue dress. A small fairy was also perched onto her shoulder. The little girl resembled someone very close to Seto. "Is that Mokuba?"

Rajata giggled. "Yes, I thought he made the perfect model for your main character. With this princess he will be forever immortalized inside of your game."

Seto smiled as he looked onto his painting. Joey chimed in. "Kaiba's making a new game?"

The smile quickly fell from Seto's face. "Yes you worm and you're lucky you are even here to know about it. If word gets out about these paintings, I will personally see to it that you are locked away for life."

Joey nodded and kept silent. Rajata backed away from the paintings and walked toward the easel in the corner. She picked up her canvas bag and looked up at the painting she had left. It was still carefully covered. 'It looks like he didn't even glance at it. Whatever he can burn it for all I care.' Rajata walked back over to Joey and stood beside him. While staring at Seto's back she said, "Well what do you think?"

Seto was silent as he stared at the paintings one more time. He turned and looked at Rajata. "They turned out even better than I could have imagined. I thank you for that."

Joey scoffed. "Wow, Seto Kaiba said thank you."

Seto glared at Joey. "Unlike a dog like you, I actually have manners." Seto walked to his desk and took out his checkbook. He wrote out the check and stood in front of Rajata. "Here is the agreed upon amount. I would like to invite you out to dinner to celebrate tonight."

Rajata smirked. "Sorry but you're a little too late. You see after you left my condo in a huff, I asked Joey to go to dinner with me." Rajata and Joey retreated to the hall. Before they boarded the elevator, she turned and called back to Seto, "Maybe next time you won't bitch someone out so quickly Mr. Kaiba. I'll contact you never!" Rajata and Joey climbed into the elevator laughing.

Seto Kaiba, Office

Seto stood shell shocked as he watched Rajata and Joey board the elevator. Tony closed the door to his office. Seto threw his checkbook across the room and grabbed the next nearest thing. He threw the desk lamp and banging it into the television, sending a wave of sparks flying. Seto pounded his fist into his desk and closed his eyes. 'That stupid fucking….no….I am the stupid one. I said all of that out of anger and hurt her deeply. She wants nothing to do with me and that is the end of it.' Seto felt something wet hit the back of his fist. Opening his eyes, he saw that tears were falling from his face and onto his hands. Seto stood up straight and wiped his face. 'I'm crying? I never cry over anything. Why is this girl any different? She obviously doesn't even care about me since she's going out with Wheeler. How could she be near that piece of shit?' Seto sat down at his desk and stared out the window, looking at the busy city in the growing evening. He sighed and turned around when he heard a knock on his door.

Roland walked through and stopped when he saw the television. "Mr. Kaiba, Tony called me and said that Rajata was here. He said he heard a loud popping sound after she left. Are you okay Mr. Kaiba?" Roland approached Seto's desk.

Seto put his face in his hand and nodded. "Yeah I'm fine, just annoyed I suppose."

Roland gave Seto a concerned look at he focused on the tear stained cheeks and red eyes. "Do you need to talk at all Mr. Kaiba?"

Seto sighed and sat back in his chair. "I accused Rajata of sleeping with Yugi when I went to go and talk to her this morning."

Roland grimaced and sat down. "Why would you do that? You know as well as I do that she wouldn't have told you about her assassin past without having complete and strong feelings for you."

Seto felt tears stinging his face again. "I did it out of habit. When things are not going right I start being, well, an ass. Yugi answered her door and I just flipped out. I didn't expect it. I basically called her a whore."

"What did she say?"

"She told me to…..not very nice things."

Roland sat back and stretched out. "I'm sure she just said those things out of anger Mr. Kaiba."

Seto stopped and looked up at Roland. 'Wait, he mentioned something he should know nothing about.' Seto narrowed his eyes. "How did you know about Rajata's past?"

Roland shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I accidently overheard you and Miss Rajata talking about her past. I apologize, it was not my place."

Seto rubbed his temples. "Please leave Roland; take my brother home and forget about everything you heard." Seto watched as Roland left, closing the door behind him.

Seto stood up and opened the door to his balcony. He breathed in the fresh air, clearing his mind. 'I can't believe Roland would eavesdrop in on that private conversation. I know he wouldn't tell anyone but still I am disappointed. Mokuba said that it really isn't a big deal but I'm still not sure. The Family isn't an entity that I want to deal with but unfortunately it is going to come hand and hand with Rajata. I still have no idea how I would like to move on from this. I wanted to talk with her about it and try to get her to help me make a decision but of course I ruined that.' Seto walked back into the office as a lite rain began to fall. He stared in the corner where Rajata worked just the other day. He could still picture her there and smell her sweet scent on the jacket he wore for most of the night the other day. He inhaled deeply, taking in the faint scent that was still lingering in his office. "Rajata…" he said out loud. Seto locked eyes with the painting in the corner. 'Rajata told me to look at that painting but something keeps pulling me away from it. Is it fear that I won't like what I see?' Seto walked over to the easel and put a hand onto the silk white sheet. Rajata had worked on that painting and even stopped him from looking at it before. Seto pulled the sheet slowly and let it fall to the ground. His eyes went soft and his breath caught. The painting was of him in his tight black turtle neck shirt. The sun was in the window, lighting up his features in stunning detail. In the painting he was leaning forward in his chair, gazing into the laptop. His face was soft and he was smiling slightly. Rajata's signature was in the corner. Seto ran a finger over the name. 'This painting is so beautiful. She must have put a lot of thought into it.' Seto clenched his fists at his own stupidity. 'That's it, I have to go to her house and talk to her, tonight. I'll wait at her condo until she comes home and apologize. Even if she doesn't take me back I at least want to have her be a close friend. She means too much to me to just let her walk away. I can't do that, I just can't. I have to stop lying to myself and suck it up. I need to be a man.' Seto walked outside his office, pulling on his long purple jacket over his tight black shirt. Tony jumped at the sight of his boss. Seto pressed the button to the elevator and looked to Tony. "I'm going to be gone the rest of the night, have the game team come up here and begin to transfer those paintings to the game. When I get in tomorrow morning I want to have a complete game so I can test it." Seto did not wait for a response and boarded the elevator. "Rajata, this is it. I am playing my last card."

Rajata's Car, an hour later

Rajata dropped Joey off at his apartment after the movie. They had a wonderful dinner and the movie was surprisingly good. Joey and Rajata joked all night. Joey did his best to keep Rajata's mind off of the fight with Kaiba and he was good at what he did. Rajata took her time going home. She sipped on the milkshake that they got on the drive to Joey's place. Once she arrived at her condo and parked did her smile quickly fade. On the threshold of her doorstep was Seto Kaiba. "Fuck what does he want now?" Rajata asked herself as she reluctantly climbed from her car. Rajata walked up the stairs and stood beside Seto. She waited for him to say something.

Seto shuffled on his feet and then sighed. "We need to talk."

Rajata tapped her foot impatiently. "I'm waiting, so talk. I have had a long day and I'm tired. I would hurry up and get to the point fast Kaiba; I am far from in the entertaining mood."

Seto frowned and then put his hands hesitantly on Rajata's shoulders. "Rajata, please let's go inside and talk about this."

Rajata scoffed at his pleading tone. "No, Seto you made your point very clear earlier that you have no intention of trying anything earlier. So I am going to ask you nicely to remove yourself from my property before I call the police."

Before Rajata could push him away Seto pulled her to him and crushed his lips onto hers. She instinctively opened her mouth and danced her tongue with his. Her knees were growing weak from the passion of Seto's kiss. He pulled away from her mouth and kissed his way down her neck. Seto picked her up and leaned her against the door. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Seto kissed her neck, sucking gently which gained a small moan from Rajata's lips. Seto quickly moved back to her lips and kissed her with renewed vigor. His growing member was pushing against his tight pants, rubbing Rajata threw her tights. Rajata opened her eyes and broke the kiss. She stared into Seto's eyes and said, "Seto, we can't do this anymore."