Hehe, hi again everyone! Sorry to take so long to update, school has been starting to drag me down again...

KatrinaKaiba: Yes, I'll have a scene just like that... in fact, in this chapter ;)

Arabella Silverbell: Thanks!

darkfarie14: Well, here you are! Munches on cookie Thanks! Don't get the wrong idea, though... I didn't do it only for the cookie ;)

Ambitions from the Heart

Written by: TheDemonHuntress

Chapter 7: Champion Island

No one could've asked for a more perfect day to begin a tournament on. The sun shone like a blazing torch lit afire up above. The sky stretched for great expanses, maintaining a luscious blue tinge throughout, with an absence of any clouds. Yet it was not too warm, with a constant breeze playing through my hair.

The whole gang woke up early, with early, with the exception of Joey who snoozed until everyone was loading off the ship.

My heart was pounding as I took my first glance at the island. Although the duelist population was smaller than that of Duelist Kingdom's, the island was definitely larger.

It didn't seem to have many inhabitants before us, so the only buildings that I caught sight of were those of restaurants and lodgings. Most of the island looked as if it were specified to a certain playing filed, whereas in Duelist Kingdom, it varied according to the natural environment.

As we exited the ship, my heart skipped a beat as I caught sight of Kaiba exited from another way out farther down on the ship. But I wanted to keep my distance from him after our last encounter, in case I caught him in a bad mood again.

If I was so frightened of him, then why did I still like him? Perhaps it was because of his looks, which could overlook his personality. After all, if you first looked at him, wouldn't you be more captivated by his looks, since they were the first thing that you laid eyes on? This was how I felt about him.

Kaiba began to walk towards our direction, and I turned away so that he wouldn't catch me gaping at him. Why did he always have to come near us?

"Looks like he knows how to put money to good use," he mumbled under his breath as he approached.

"Eh, what's that, Moneybags?" Joey asked suspiciously.

"What I meant to say, Mutt, is that I helped to fund this tournament," Kaiba replied with a smirk.

"So are you the host of the tournament?" Yugi asked.

"No. Just consider that it was part of some business plans of mine. Of course, something too complicated for dogs like the mutt here to understand…"

"Just explain, rich boy!"

"I've never seen mutts lost their temper so quickly—"

"Get on with it!"

I glared at Joey. It was not smart to test Kaiba like that.

Kaiba's smirk grew wider. "As you probably know, I've invented a new dueling prototype, the DuelPort. The host of this tournament offered to showcase it in this tournament in exchange for funds for the competition."

"That's no big secret," Joey said sheepishly.

Kaiba walked away then, having spent enough time with us. But his answer to Joey's question only deepened my curiosity in who the host of the tournament was. It was someone willing to promote Kaiba's technology… or was it? The wealth of the guy could impress anyone.

"It says here that we compete in this tournament with marbles," Yugi stated, reading from a guidebook. "So that's what the pouches we got were for…

"We start out with two marbles, and get into the finals with eight."

"Like the usual," Mai commented. "So when do we get to kick some butt?"

"Starting tomorrow, it says," Yugi answered. "Tonight there's going to be a welcome banquet and a dance, also."

"You don't say!" Mai exclaimed. "This host guy might be secretive and all, but he's got a sense of style!"

Oh, my god. Why couldn't it just be a dinner? Why was there also a dance?! Now Mai and Tea are going to make my life miserable somehow…

Mai already had that I'm-thinking-of-a-plan-of-doom expression on her face. Well, that left me really looking forward to tonight…

Evening

"Mai, NO!" I shouted as she asked if I wanted to dance with Kaiba.

"Aw, why not?" she asked. "If you love him, then why not?"

"Stop it! I don't love-even like him!"

Mai sighed. "You're so stubborn sometimes, y'know… Want to go and get a drink?" I failed to notice a wink she passed at Tea.

"Fine."

We walked over to the table, and guess who else I saw there? Yep, it was him. Obviously something else that was not coincidental?

"Mai, can we go now?" I whispered. But I looked at where Kaiba had been, and he wasn't there.

So instead of actually getting a drink, I turned to go back to our table, and—smack. Ran right into him. Oh god, why did this have to happen right now? Why did it have to happen at all?!

I shuddered at the thought of having him look at me like an idiot, so I backed away from him slowly, ever so slowly.

I heard Mai laugh in the background, and it seemed that the only things that existed now were Kaiba and I.

I looked up at Kaiba, and only then was I struck by how tall he really was. And he looked down at me and just smirked. One of those smirks that was evil as hell, but also sexy at the same time.

"Why, it's Miss Lee," he began. "Always seemingly finding herself near me."

I blushed furiously, not because of how damn hot he looked that night in his blindingly flashy silver trench coat, but because of the truthfulness in his statement.

"If you're trying to s-say that I'm following you a-around, then you're wrong!" Gosh, I was stammering when I talked to him? I could also see the glares that nearly every girl in the room gave me. They all wanted to get close to Kaiba, but to actually talk to him? Even that seemed like an impossible dream to them. And what I wanted to tell all of them was that I did not want to be in front of him right now!

"I think that you'd have to try to avoid me," he replied.

"You're-you're so vain!" I cried. It was getting to embarrassing, that I decided to turn my back on him and return to Yugi's table.

But as I turned around, I felt his hand grab around my waist and pull me back. He was so strong that I couldn't do anything. I was horrified.

"I thought you wanted to dance," he said, keeping his evil smirk intact.

I breathed the color red. Of course I wanted to dance with him. I just didn't expect him to bring it up so suddenly.

"I never said such a thing," I told him.

He sighed. "You didn't have to tell me for me to know." And although I didn't want to in front of so many people, I let him bring me to the dance platform and he held me close to him. I gasped for air.

"That Tenderness card was very clever," he said as the music started. "It takes out most of the guesswork in things…"

The way he said 'things' made me think that he couldn't say the word 'love'. And I was so close to fainting at that moment that I wasn't trying to actually dance with him. But his grace and smoothness surprised me.

Kaiba closed his eyes briefly, signaling how oblivious he was to everyone watching us. Practically no one else was dancing. Everyone was watching. I wouldn't mind swapping places with any other girl in the room; only then would they experience my torment.

"Of course it wasn't the card that I found interesting," he continued. "Like I said, it's the thought-written out on paper- that counts.

He spun me around, and I found myself staring into those beautiful cerulean orbs. Of course, that took my breath away.

"And what did it say on the card?" I asked hesitantly.

"It said that you were… interested in me."

I stopped in my tracks. It was insane, having him know that I liked him.

"My friends wrote that… it doesn't mean that it's true."

I covered my face with my hands and turned away. Blushing was evil!

I looked down at the ground so that he would not see my face. "Thank you," I whispered. Indeed, Kaiba had really filled my heart with joy tonight.

But he did not let go of me. Instead, he bent down and gently kissed me. A magical kiss.

Yet I knew that it wasn't genuine once he stood back up and smirked again.

"Because you wanted me to," he answered the invisible question that I had not yet asked before he left to go, brushing me with his trench coat.

Was I perhaps blinded by his actions? Tonight I had overlooked his smirks with the dance and the controversial kiss.

Once again, everyone's eyes were on me. But I wanted to be along. I walked away into the hallway, consumed by its darkness, which could hide my face, my feelings…

my love.

Well, was it good? Bad? Too soon? Please tell me! Hopefully I'll update soon!