Baby steps, baby steps but I will get there! Eventually!

Enjoy!

Yugi wasn't feeling well. It wasn't her stomach or her head, or even the lack of sleep that kept her awake. She couldn't exactly pinpoint what was bothering and where that odd feeling in her insides came from. But she assumed it probably had to do with Joey. She tried ignoring it as she stepped out of the elevator on the one hundred and fortieth floor of the Kaiba Corps central. She was surprised to find the Kaiba's faithful butler there.

"Welcome, miss Yugi," he greeted with a sweet smile. "It's good to see you."

"Hello Hobson," she replied politely. "You too. What are you doing here?"

"Master Seto has asked me to come pick up Master Mokuba. They spent the day together at Kaibaland and I think Master Seto needs to get some work done without his little brother around."

She smiled thinking of the ball of energy that was Mokuba Kaiba. She'd barely had time to talk to him when they got back. Surely, he was overjoyed to have his big brother back. All they had was each other after all.

"Do you know why he wants to talk to me?" she asked.

"He hasn't said anything to me. I'm afraid you'll have to see for yourself."

She sighed. This was very Kaiba-like. Good. At least something felt normal today. Finally, after crossing God knows how many hallways, they reached the door to Kaiba's office. Hobson knocked and announced them. The door opened and Mokuba appeared.

"Yugi!" he shouted, throwing himself in her arms. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"W-What?" she replied, before remembering she'd been with him when Pegasus's goons had grabbed her. "It wasn't your fault, Moki. And I'm okay, I promise. Your big brother saved me, right?"

His face suddenly lit up. "Does that mean you'll still play with me?"

"Whenever you want. Pinky swear."

"Master Mokuba," said Hobson, saving her from the boy's grip. "It's time for us to go. Your brother has a lot of work to do. At what time do you want me to come pick you up, Master Seto?"

The young billionaire was typing something up on his computer and replied without even looking up. "I'll call you."

"That means you're gonna work all night," pouted Mokuba. "You promised we'd take a vacation too!"

"A planned vacation, Mokuba. That means I have to organize everything before we go. And today was pretty much a vacation too."

"Pff. Being a grown up sucks like hell."

"Language. And will you two just go, already?"

With that, Hobson and Mokuba said bye to her before stepping out and closing the door behind them. For a moment, Kaiba just kept typing, eyes laser focused on his screen. She just stood there watching him and waited until he was done. Taking the opportunity, she looked at him. He looked as Kaiba as ever, but he had the same bags under his eyes as hers. Actually, his might have been bigger. Probably because he'd sacrificed his sleep to catch up on the work he'd missed while in Egypt. Finally, he finished and stood up to go sit on one of the couches.

"Have seat," he told her.

She did what he asked and sat facing him. In between them was the chess board but the pawns were placed like the game had already started. The positioning looked familiar and then she remembered. That was the game they'd never finished. He moved a pawn.

"Your turn."

She moved her rook. "So why did you want to see me?"

He moved his knight. "Do you have nightmares?"

"Yeah. You too?"

"Haven't slept enough to find out."

They were quiet for a bit and just played. It wasn't unusual. When they both entered the focus phase of the game, they could stay hours without speaking. But her focus wasn't completely on the game. That feeling in her stomach seemed to be more and more noticeable. What was up with her?

"How is your grandfather?"

The question surprised her, but she took his bishop and replied, "Great. Too good actually. He opened the game shop again this morning. He's in better shape than I am, it's scary."

"I see," he said, rubbing his tired eyes briefly. "That's good."

"Kaiba, you look awful. You should probably get some real sleep. I know you'll probably get nightmares but..."

"I'll do that later."

She shook her head and didn't find it necessary to tell him how stubborn he was being. She moved her queen. Again, they played in silence, and again her head was only halfway in the game. She finally managed to identify what the strange sensation was. Joey would call it her gut-feeling. Something was going on. Moving her queen again, she put his king in check.

"Kaiba, you didn't call me here just to play. What's going on?"

He moved his king away from danger. "Have you seen the mutt since we got back?"

That was blunt. Since when was he interested in Joey? The very idea of him repulsed him. Where was he going with this? So much for thinking about something other than the blond boy. She took one of his pawns.

"No."

It wasn't a lie, she hadn't seen him technically speaking. Besides, Kaiba was the last person she'd want to talk to about that phone call. Kaiba moved his knight and took her rook.

"Funny. I guess my monitors picked up the wrong call then."

Every muscle in her body tensed and she froze staring at him in disbelief. "You're still monitoring my phone? Kaiba, come on! I thought we were done with this. How did you even get my new number? I never gave it to you."

"I didn't, but thanks for confirming that for me," he said his eyes narrowing on her. "I thought by now you'd learn. You should know better than to hide things from me."

He'd tricked her. Darn it! Why could she see through any of his moves when playing but always get caught off guard while talking? Of course, the memory of the phone call had been triggered. She felt her face heat up like an active volcano. She wanted to die in shame. And of course, he was getting an eyeful of of her embarrassment.

"Judging from your face, I'm guessing your conversation wasn't PG."

Oh God, what was he thinking? The temperature of her face tripled and she thought for a moment that she was going to pass out. To distract them both she took one of his pawns, putting his king in check again.

"How did you know he called me?"

"He took off pretty quickly after we landed and I'm guessing it was to get away from you for some reason so I figured he'd go back to his shit-hole of a neighborhood. But I had a hunch he was going to contact you." He moved his king out of harms way again. "I also have a hunch that he's going to come back crawling sooner or later."

Wait. Why was he telling her this? It was like he was telling her what she wanted to hear. But last she checked, Kaiba did everything possible to keep Joey the hell away from her. She moved a pawn taking his rook.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in him?"

"Don't be an idiot," he said, moving another pawn. "I couldn't care less about the mutt. You're the one I have business with."

She paused again before distractingly glancing at the board and moving her knight. "You lost me. When you have business with me is when we play. Aren't we..."

"Yugi, what did he tell you?" he said interrupting.

His eyes were piercing through her like freshly sharpened blade. She was supposed to be used to reading him since he showed little emotions. But in that moment, she was incapable of it. Was it because they were talking about Joey? He moved his knight.

"Check."

She moved her king. "I-I don't understand what you mean..."

He moved his queen. "Check mate."

She froze. Check mate? She was used to saying it but hearing it was another thing entirely. When was the last time she lost at chess? When she was six playing against her grandfather maybe. Suddenly, her entire concentration was on the game. She looked at the moves they'd both made. He'd lured her in with a bait strategy. And she'd fallen for it like an amateur. He'd beaten her. He'd finally beaten her. But his face showed anything but satisfaction. His eyes burned with silent anger.

"Twelve moves. That's all it took for me to beat you. Our games never had less than thirty six."

"I...I'm sorry," she said, unable to think of anything else to say.

She'd lost because she'd been too distracted. In a way it hadn't been a fair game. She hadn't put her heart into it and that was the whole reason Kaiba played her. Because she was good and always put her all in her games, no matter which it was. This loss felt like she'd just insulted him and spat in his face for no reason.

"Your head is full of him."

His words were like acid to her ears, filled with contempt and anger. Worst part was that he wasn't wrong. She looked down. Wait... No. Why was she backing down waiting for him to speak his mind? He'd been unusually indirect. Something was off. He was the one who'd called her here. Taking a deep breath she looked up at him again.

"Kaiba, what do you want from me?"

He closed his eyes briefly.

"I'll be blunt."

Oh boy.

"He lives in the most disease-ridden, drug infested part of Domino. He comes from a broken background and a lifestyle that he's likely to copy as he gets older. His father's an alcoholic gambler that'll die of liver cancer soon enough. He doesn't have a dime to his name. He'll never attend uni and it'll be a miracle if he even graduates high school. I doubt he'll ever have a stable job. He's a hot head who picks fights with armed thugs and has to get stitched up every week. I'm surprised he can even walk straight. He's got the perfect profile of a loser."

She knew the young CEO thought that way about Joey. He hated him that was clear enough. There was only one reason Kaiba felt the need to lay all of that out to her. He was showing her how bad he was so that she'd leave him behind. That irritated her.

"Get to the point, Kaiba."

"Choose me."

A jolt of electricity shot through her. She stared at him in absolute disbelief, her jaw dropping. She'd expected anything. Just not this.

"What?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" he almost snapped, irritated. "I love you and I want you to choose me."

"W-Wait slow down, Kaiba. A few weeks ago you told me we weren't even friends..."

"I was pissed at you and the mutt. I said what was necessary to keep myself on top of the situation. But it was the truth. I've never considered myself your friend."

He stood up and walked over to the window, his back turned to her and gazing out. "First you were someone I had to beat, no matter what it took. You frustrated me. You were the biggest obstacle I ever tripped on. I wanted to crush you and make you realize I was better."

Old memories flashed in her mind. The first few times they'd played together, how irritated he was. He scared her but she had no one else, so she kept accepting his challenges. And he was one of the rare people who could keep up with her. But the more they played, the more she got used to him. She'd ended up really liking his company. Even when she met Tea and Kisa, she'd never given up her game time with him.

"Somewhere along the lines, playing became the excuse I needed to see you. Why do you think I invited you to play at my house instead of just staying at school? Why I let Mokuba get close to you? That was me courting you."

"..." She tried to speak but it got stuck in her throat.

"He's worthless. I can keep you safe from anything."

"Kaiba...I..."

"I can give you anything you want."

Her own words were choking her and she couldn't get them out. What were they anyways? Was she surprised? No. Not really. She was horrified. Horrified that she somehow discarded so easily something that she already knew. Seto Kaiba, the ice king who crushed any obstacle in his way had stuck with her for over a year now, playing games after games, spending God knows how many hours a week with her. It'd been so obvious and so not at the same time. Thinking about it made her feel like her head was going to burst.

"I'm not asking you how you feel," he said, before finally turning around and looking at her in the eyes again. "I'm asking you to choose me."

But how she felt and her answer went hand in hand. It took everything she had to look at him the eyes. As her answer left her mouth, tears watered her eyes but she forbid them from falling.

"I can't... I can't because I love Joey."

As usual, nothing showed on his face. But she didn't even see a hint of surprise in his eyes. There was something else. Something that made the piercing blue of his irises turn to cloudy grey. When she saw it, her heart suddenly became heavy in her chest.

"I figured as much."

He'd predicted her answer and he still went through with this? The prideful Seto Kaiba had wandered into situation in which he knew he was going to lose? She bit her lip.

"I'm sor..."

"Don't you dare," he cut her off before turning back to look out the window. "You have no reason to apologize."

"What... should I say then?"

"Nothing. Just go."

Right. It did feel like the best thing to do to diffuse this miserable atmosphere that was emitting from both of them. But every step she took towards the door made her even more scared than she was. She stopped after grabbing the handle.

"Kaiba," she said without turning around in case he was looking her way. "Does this mean... I lose my friend too?"

She heard him take a deep breath.

"Go. Please."

It was the same monotone voice as usual, but the words were heavy. She didn't want to leave him alone. Not after this conversation. But she was the last person he needed to be with. Turning the handle, she stepped out. When she finally reached the elevator and the doors shut behind her, she stared into nothingness. The heavy atmosphere hadn't left her. On the contrary, it was like it had concentrated and made her chest even heavier than before. He felt it too, she knew it. They were both hurt and it was no one's fault. All she knew is that she didn't want to be alone right now, so neither should he. She grabbed her phone.

"What's up, Yugi?"

She tried to stabilize her voice but to no avail. " Hey Kisa..."

"What's wrong?" Of course the class rep was already on high alert. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine. Really, I promise." Could she sound anymore unconvincing? She quickly wiped the two tears that finally escaped her eyes. "Actually, I need a favor."

Night had fallen some time ago on Domino but he hadn't moved in a few hours. Not a single source of light was on, not even his computer screen. But there he was, standing in front of the giant window, staring down at the city that he practically owned. In that moment, nothing was more worthless than his wealth. He wanted a challenge. He craved excitement. There had something to be done about this damn void in his chest! Someone then knocked on the door and without waiting for an answer, someone entered. He didn't need to turn around; the footsteps were familiar.

"It's a nice view," she commented to start the conversation.

He didn't bother turning around. "What are you doing here, Kisa?"

He heard paper shuffling. She was looking through her bag. "This is all the work we missed while we were gone. Including today's. Just in case you feel like coming back to class."

Was there no end to how much of a goodie two shoes this girl could be? He didn't know the time but he was pretty sure it was past ten o'clock. He heard her put the folder on his desk.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He sighed. What was she doing here? The last thing he wanted right now was company. There was a reason he hadn't gone home even though he was done with his work.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"How long are you going to pretend that you're not human? You just got rejected by the girl you love. If you were honest about that, then there's no way you're doing good right now. How long have you been staring out that window? If you finished working, you should be home but you're not."

He fought the urge to face palm. Yugi had sent her. Why would she show up this late?

"Since when have you become my shrink?"

"With what went down between you, I'm guessing you two are not going to see each other for a while at least."

He scoffed at her as he turned around, his eyes throwing daggers at her. "And what? You thought you could just barge in here and take advantage of the situation? Hate to break it to you, but I'm not stupid or easy."

It was meant to hurt. He knew how she felt about him. There was no doubt about it. Meeting her ancient Egyptian previous life had told him enough. Even if he still blamed her link with Kisara for that. But right now, he just wanted her to be alone. Was that too damn much to ask?

"I didn't come here to seduce you into liking me," she said frowning but as calm as ever. "Who the hell do you think I am, Kaiba? This isn't about me."

"And yet you're still here, rubbing this in my face."

"Shut your pride up for a second and let me talk, will you?" she snapped this time. "Look, I know that this doesn't sound the best coming from me. Especially since I know you know how I feel about you. But I'm also the only person who can tell you this. So please listen."

It annoyed him but she was one of the rare people who never looked away from him. He held back a sighed and went to sit at his desk and faced the window again. What could she possibly say that could do something for him? Looking at the sky, he waited for her to talk.

"I've always been grateful to Yugi for having gotten into your heart somehow. She was your new perspective on yourself and everything else. I was happy because she kept you in touch with your human-self, even if you didn't notice it. You were happier when she was there."

His hands clenched into fists. God, there was nothing he hated more than having his emotions be read out to him. Especially, when they were on point. Every time she came here to drop things off, she always had that knack for reading his mood. Now of all times was not the time.

"Losing was alright when you were with her, wasn't it? That's how happy you were. I didn't want you to get split up. When Joey came along, I knew it was only a matter of time."

He knew that damn it! He knew the mutt was going to ruin everything the moment Yugi started defending him. How many times had his mind wandered back in time, wishing he'd just gotten the bastard kicked out for good? And Yugi... he'd always known she was making him weak. And he'd done nothing to stop her.

"I don't want you to throw away that part of you, Kaiba. Nothing matters more to me than this. Everything else is secondary. You've suffered enough, you've been alone enough. I won't let you go back to your darkness. Ever."

Kisa was finally quiet. But then the young CEO sighed loudly and turned back, but he didn't look her in the eyes. Instead, he leaned his elbows on his desk and rested his head on his joined hands. Why did she care? He'd never done anything to warrant her good will. The bond with Kisara was probably to blame. Again.

"Never thought I'd find a bigger pain in my ass than Wheeler."

"Thanks for that image."

She walked over to the desk and took something else out of her bag that she placed on his desk. He looked up to look at it. It was a wooden puzzle. A really complicated one, second only probably to the Millennium Puzzle.

"Yugi solved it in ten hours," explained the class rep. "It took me six days. I'm not much of a challenge right now, but I learn fast."

Was she offering him a challenge? A chance to fill the void? No one had done that once they saw how good he was at everything. The only one was Yugi. Then again, he challenged her. Why was she offering that? She'd get nothing from it and she knew it.

"What do you want, Kisa?"

He'd spoken with his business voice this time and was looking straight at her. She walked over to the tea table to grab the small chess board and bring it to the desk.

"Until someone else manages to make her way to your stone heart, you're going to need someone to keep you human. I'm asking you if I can be that person. You can say no, but I'll find a way to keep an eye on you."

"Tch. Stalker."

"Hello pot, I'm kettle." She smiled briefly before regaining her serious face. "Please Kaiba. Let me be someone you can trust. Even if it's just for a little while. In any case, I'm not leaving you alone."

She was serious. He'd be lying if he thought this was going to work in filling the void. But he also seemed to have lost the will to turn her away. What the hell? He really wasn't himself today. He decided to give up on keeping up the facade. If there was one time he should be allowed to sit back, it was now.

"You do know you're getting nothing from this?" he asked.

"I know. But I'd be lying if I said I won't enjoy it."

"You're exhausting, you know that? You sound like the specter," he finally let out, moving a pawn. "Do whatever you want. Just so you know, you're never going to beat me. This game will be over in eight moves."

She smirked at him. "Let your guard down and I'll kick your ass."

They played. She sucked at it, not even close to Yugi's level. But the distraction made him forget the void for a little while.

Our favorite jackass billionaire has officially been dumped! Even I feel bad for him. ;-;

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