Chapter 1

Seto Kaiba liked the darkness.

I knew, because I watched him sometimes; observed him from the corner of my eye, waiting to see what he would do. He never seemed to mind the sun, never noticeably gave any reaction to it at all, but I could tell. Seto disliked the hot, steaming rays bearing down on him, their lurid glare reflecting blindingly on the metal studs lining his trenchcoat and their scorching heat soaking mercilessly into his black clothes. No, he belonged to the gloom, to the chill wind and the cloudy sky. There, he was at his strongest; there, he stood a little straighter, held his proud chin a little higher. There, if indeed anywhere, Seto was at peace.

So, who better for him than the very embodiment of darkness itself? One whose body, whose very existence emerged from the shadows, who was even named after the night? Who better for Seto… than me?

Me… Yami. His greatest rival; the only person who could beat him at his own game, the one who stole his title as Duel Monsters Champion and challenged his reputation by defeating him repeatedly. The person he resented most in the world.

And, in a strange, twisted way, his best friend.

I couldn't even attempt to explain that. But, somehow, in spite of all the bitterness and rivalry, Seto still respected me – and we'd certainly gone through enough together to be more than casual acquaintances. I was Seto's constant ally – and though he'd never admit to feeling anything other than apathy or loathing toward anyone except his brother, somehow I had pushed my way into Seto's life enough to earn the stoic CEO's vague, distant brand of friendship.

Although I was probably the only person – ever – to accomplish this, it still wasn't enough. I wanted more. I needed more. When I watched Seto, especially at night, standing straight and proud with the cold wind whipping thick chestnut locks wildly around his face, I knew I couldn't be satisfied with being his somewhat – if only – friend. I wanted closer, wanted to whisper secrets into the delicate shell of his ear, to run my fingers through that thick hair, to hear him cry out my name as we moved together in the darkness.

I just wanted him.

But I had no idea how to get him.


"What are you thinking about, Yami?"

Yugi's cheerful tenor startled me from my reverie and I turned from the darkened window I had been staring vaguely through, blinking slowly as I observed his curious violet eyes. "Is something wrong?" he added.

"No, I'm fine Yugi," I reassured him, giving him a slight smile. "Just falling asleep at the window, I suppose."

"What were you thinking about?" he repeated.

I hesitated. "I was just… remembering," I answered vaguely, but continued quickly before he could question me further, "Nothing important. I think I'll go to bed now."

"Alright. Good night, then."

"Good night."

I hurried past him and climbed the steep, shabbily carpeted stairs to my room, plopping on my back across my creaking mattress as soon as I reached it so I could continue my thoughts in peace. What I'd said to Yugi hadn't been a lie – I was remembering. I was remembering my duels with Seto; recalling the slow, seductive way he drawled my name whenever he challenged me and the bright cerulean flash of his wondrous eyes as I faced him across the arena.

It had been far too long since I'd seen him.

A few weeks, maybe, at most, were all that had passed since I had encountered the CEO, but my last glimpse of him was merely to see him stalking from the entrance to one of the major businesses downtown, barking orders into his cellphone as he headed for his limo. He had noticed me walking by, and when I waved he nodded minutely in my direction, never ceasing his telephone conversation. Then Seto had climbed into the limousine and disappeared. That was it.

But still, for those few fleeting seconds when he acknowledged me I had been deliriously happy – and I had wandered around smiling for the rest of the day.

I was pathetic.

I rolled over in bed and buried my face in my pillow. This was getting me nowhere; this wishing for contact with Seto and dwelling endlessly on the tiny, meaningless scraps of attention he casually tossed my way… It was embarrassing. Sighing to myself, I decided to just go to sleep and forget about Seto for at least one night, and so settled cozily into the mattress, tugging my blankets tight around me as I snuggled closer into the pillow.

Still, I couldn't help but think it would have been nice if that pillow was Seto, and instead of cotton I was snuggling into the soft warm heat of his neck, burying my face in the juncture between his throat and collarbone… He probably smelled incredible, like soap and summer rain…

I groaned and tossed the pillow across the room.

There was no hope for me.


The next day I came up with a plan. It was too ridiculous, too pathetic, for the King of Games to waste his life pining pointlessly after his rival. No, I had always prided myself on bravery and determination, so I should be able to face Seto easily; to be honest with my rival about my feelings. It should be simple for me to talk to him.

But… it wasn't. So I carefully constructed a plan; painstakingly agonized over just the right way to grab Seto's attention – until, in the end, I decided on something deceptively simple.

It was all in the clothes.

If Seto Kaiba liked the night, I would simply have to remind him why I was the embodiment of the dark. Then, just maybe, he would feel drawn to me; feel as at home with me as he did alone in the gloom. So I wore black, donning the black boots and black leather pants that clung to me and melded against my skin as if they belonged there. The shirt was black as well, long-sleeved, filmy fabric shimmering with every swish of air and every hint of movement, silk so thin it seemed to float around me, almost like it was indeed constructed of shadows. My neck I left bare, the smooth pale skin disappearing under the silk a subtle invitation for Seto to come and explore.

(Of course, this outfit was more than a little expensive. I just hoped my plan would work before Yugi's grandfather got his credit card bill.)

My appearance thus decided, it was time for me to implement the next, and by far the most difficult, phase of my plan – arranging a meeting with Kaiba. A believable one, at that. But, as such things tend to do; the answer came to me in an incredible stroke of brilliance, surprising even me by its simplicity. Seto may have been a child prodigy, a creative genius, but he was a businessman first of all.

He was certain to be intrigued by a business proposal from his rival.


"I'm listening."

Kaiba's curt words cut me off the moment I walked in the door. Taken slightly by surprise at this, I hesitated in the middle of the lush blue carpet of his office floor. He made an impatient grunt in the back of his throat and gestured for me to sit in the chair across his desk. "I don't have all day. Just say what you want," he added brusquely.

I regarded him for a moment, frowning, before I began my slow seductive steps across the room to sit in front of Seto. I could feel his eyes on me as I approached, and the temperature in the room seemed to rise several degrees. I was sure I was sweating. When I reached the chair I glanced up to find Seto openly staring at me, an unreadable expression flickering in his crystal blue eyes. I smirked; hopefully that meant my outfit was working.

"No need to be so rude, Kaiba," I commented neutrally, settling back in the soft cushion of my chair.

"What do you want, Yami?"

"Why did you agree to meet me?"

"What does it matter?"

"Don't you have more important people to deal with than me?"

"Did you want me to ignore you?"

"Of course not." My smirk widened as I observed Seto. His eyes had narrowed in annoyance and he leaned forward on his elbows against the desk, unconsciously moving closer to me as we bantered back and forth. I shifted position, slowly sliding a palm under my collar and rubbing the skin along my collarbone and shoulder, making sure to leave a bit more of the smooth, pale skin exposed as I withdrew my hand.

Seto's gaze flickered to my neck. I triumphed inwardly.

"Y…ami," his voice stumbled slightly over the word, "my assistant told me you had a proposal for me."

I shifted again, this time leaning back in my chair so that my long blond bangs fell rakishly over one crimson eye. "Yes… I was wondering if you would be interested in having me as a spokesperson for KaibaCorp."

"WHAT?"

Seto's shocked, angry cry unnerved me and I almost lost my composure, but I managed to control my thudding heart and smirk confidently in reply. I knew I shouldn't worry too much – after all, I wasn't really here for a job. "Well, you need to advertise dueling gear anyway. And since I am fairly well-known, I think I would be a good person for the job. I'd be willing to pose for billboards… all sorts of pictures…" I drawled the last few words slowly and meaningfully, running my fingers through my thick hair and trailing them suggestively down my chest to rest in my lap.

Seto blinked. I could actually see the images racing through his head.

"I'm already the spokesperson for KaibaCorp," he said – without conviction.

"Alright." I exhaled slowly and rose to my feet. "If you change your mind, you know where to reach me."

With that, I walked out of the room, never glancing back; but I could feel Seto's eyes on me the entire way.


"What was I THINKING? How could I give up so easily? It was too soon! I didn't make enough of an impression… Seto will never call…will he?"

I paused in my frantic pacing to observe the fat goldfish staring dully at me. His lips puckered and he stretched his mouth open wide; then shut it again. A tiny bubble floated to the surface of the water.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

The goldfish flapped its fins once and swam unhurriedly to the surface of the water to search for food, disturbing the plastic seaweed replica suspended in the center of the bowl.

"A no," I decided, plopping onto my brick-red bedcovers and burying my face in my hands. The day before I had been confident with my little seduction, sure that I had secured Seto's attention, even aroused him. But now… now I wasn't so sure. I had left far too quickly; there was so much more I could have done, could have said – I could have even been direct with Seto and asked him out. If I had been as secure in my good looks as I claimed, I wouldn't have been afraid of rejection.

But no. I had to choose the subtle method, the slow route.

And now it was all blowing up in my face.

"Do you think I should try again?" I asked the fish. "Maybe there's something more I can do… another way to get him to notice me…"

The fish just stared at me.

"You're no help at all!" I exclaimed.

It turned its back on me.

"I knew I should have gotten a dog," I muttered sourly.


The events of that evening only served to add to my uncertainty. Yugi-tachi had wandered to the Game Shop as usual to eat, watch television, and try to leech free dueling gear from Yugi and Jiichan, and I had joined them on the couch to watch a televised duel between two new up-and-coming duelists.

"His strategy is impressive," I commented, gesturing toward one of the young duelists, a slim young man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Nah, he's nothing compared to you, Yami," Jou scoffed. The others murmured their assent.

I sighed lightly to myself. In all honesty the boy wasn't even close to perfect, but I couldn't help but like him. With his proud manner, slim tall stance, and those blue eyes, he reminded me of…

"SETO KAIBA, FORMER DUEL MONSTERS CHAMPION AND CURRENT HEARTTHROB!"

Jou and Honda groaned simultaneously, and even Yugi rolled his eyes. Only Anzu refrained from a disapproving reaction at the loud, obnoxious commercial cutting into the middle of the program, images of Seto's handsome features flashing across the screen as he proudly displayed the newest dueling technology.

"KAIBACORP SYSTEMS! NOTHING LESS THAN THE BEST!" the announcer finished brightly, and then the advertisement ended, the two duelists reappearing on the screen.

"I've never seen Kaiba do a commercial before," Anzu mused.

"That jerk! Probably just wants to rub it in our faces that we can't afford all that fancy junk," Jou grumbled. He was silent for a moment. "Did look pretty cool though. Hey Yug, you think your Jiichan'll get those new duel disks?"

"You're not getting anything free, Jou," Yugi sighed, and a mini-argument broke out as Jounouchi whined and wheedled, Anzu lectured about respect for Jiichan's livelihood, and Honda laughed mercilessly at Jou's groveling.

I ignored them all, staring at the screen instead and scowling as the images of Kaiba's smirking face as he wielded a duel disk replayed through my mind in an endless loop. I supposed I had my response, then – Seto wouldn't even bother contacting me again. He had shown me that I wasn't needed, much less wanted, to help promote KaibaCorp. My official reason for visiting Seto was a complete and utter failure.

As for the other reason…

I still wasn't sure.


The silk shirt was every bit as seductive as I'd first imagined. As I rotated slowly in front of the mirror the filmy fabric clung to my form, shifting airily with each miniscule movement of my body. I slid my hands along my torso, feeling the small but well-formed muscles of my chest, and took one more glance at the reflection in the mirror. "You think I'm good-looking, don't you, Crackers?" I murmured.

No response came from the fish bowl – though of course I hadn't really expected one.

I continued my examination of my reflection. "I mean, my hair is wild, but it makes me unique. I have good enough bone structure, and I'm really in good shape… if only I weren't so short… But I still make a decent impression, I'd have to say."

"It'd be better if you weren't standing around in your boxers."

I jumped in surprise at the caustic voice, my hands shooting out to awkwardly cover the offending, heart-printed boxer shorts as I turned to see Yugi standing in the doorway, obviously fighting a grin. "Yugi! …was there something you wanted…?" I tried to ask casually, though my cheeks flamed and I frantically scanned the room for the nearest pair of pants.

Yugi snorted in mirth, finally losing the battle as a wide grin escaped onto his face. "I just wanted to tell you that you have a phone call," he answered, laughter bursting out in tiny hiccups as he spoke. "I'll tell them you'll be down in a second." With that he turned his back on me and trotted away, the sound of his merry laughter drifting down the hall behind him.

I followed shortly afterwards, fully dressed.

I shot Yugi – who was sitting on the couch watching television and still snickering lightly under his breath – a resentful scowl as I picked up the telephone. "Hello?"

"Yes, is this Yami Mutou?"

"Yes, who may I ask is calling?"

"My name is Richard Archer; I'm the president of RAGE, a new American Duel Monsters company…"

"RAGE?"

"Richard Archer Game Equipment. The acronym's much better, don't you think?"

"Er… sure…"

"Yes, anyway Yami, the reason I'm calling is that I've seen Seto Kaiba's recent commercial." My jaw dropped, but before I could stutter out my shocked reply he continued. "We're trying to compete against KaibaCorp as it is, to get our products out there, and I think a commercial is the best way to do that. But we need a well-known spokesperson. Since you are the tournament champion, naturally we thought of you. So, would you be willing to be our company representative? Unless, of course, you've already got some sort of contract with KaibaCorp; I know you and Mr. Kaiba are acquainted…"

I hesitated for a moment, glancing over to the couch where Yugi sat, pretending to watch television as he listened in on my conversation – and just then Seto's new commercial burst onto the screen, all its lurid colors and shrill noises taunting me, laughing at me. The camera zoomed in on Seto's face, a challenging smirk etched across the smooth skin. I narrowed my eyes.

"I'd love to," I replied.