Disclaimer: Of course neither YuGiOh's characters nor its original plots are mine however the OC's within this story are entirely of my own creation and cannot be used by anyone else without my permission.

I read on someone else's fic that someone had taken the author's work (a fanfiction) and was posting it on another site under their own name without pointing out who the true author was or asking permission from said author. I just want to take this moment to say that plagiarism (the act of taking and using the thoughts, writings, inventions, etc of another person and passing it off as your own) is a serious crime and even if you write merely for fun without any intention of turning professional, you should never permit yourself to even dabble in plagiarism. It simply is not worth it. Plagiarizing is not only an insult to the person you steal from, but it is also an insult to yourself. And if you mess with it just a little bit, you soon will find yourself in deeper than you planned. I know we often make jokes about the disclaimers (I do it too because it gets boring saying the same thing all the time) but I don't think many of us really consider how important it really is. Anyway, it just really touched me personally because writing is more than just a hobby to me and I can truly sympathize with the author it was done to. So to you newly aspiring writers whether it be for pleasure or professional pursuits: keep both your creativity and integrity intact and do not cross that line.

Love Me Again

Chapter 17

The mansion was unusually quiet when Ari stepped in the door. Granted the mansion was always quiet, but Ari had grown accustomed to the comings and goings of the household staff and security guards. It felt like the entire building was holding its breath the moment she stepped into the grand entryway.

Mokuba skipped through the door behind her and the house suddenly breathed again with an imagined sigh. Ari shook her head with a wry smile. Now I know I'm imagining things. It had been a mildly interesting day to say the least. She had spent it in her office, pondering the blueprints and calculations that sparked excessive curiosity and little else within her mind. The only thing capable of distracting her from this new found interest was the ever fascinating Seto Kaiba.

He was smiling. Well, not in the manner most people would smile. There was a mischievous gleam in those glorious eyes that by instinct she knew meant trouble for everyone not Seto Kaiba, and whatever he was plotting he was well pleased with it. From the moment she met that scheming gaze, she could think of nothing else. He always occupied her mind, but not even for one minute could she shake his face from her vision. Those eyes…she could fall into them forever.

To top it off, Mokuba himself bore an endless grin and this only served to confirm her suspicion that the Kaiba brothers were up to something. When she questioned Mokuba, he merely grinned wider.

"Your brother seemed really busy today," she said. "Do you think he will make it home for dinner?"

"I think Seto has bigger plans," Mokuba grinned.

"Is there something you care to share with me, Moki?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing comes to mind. I'm gonna work on my computer. I'll see ya later, Ari."

She stood wide-eyed in shock as he left her standing in the foyer. Mokuba never abandoned her like that before!

With a sigh, she shrugged and made her way up to her room. El Jiura greeted her smiling in the hallway.

"Did you have a nice day, Ms Ari?"

"Yes, El. Thank you. Why are you so happy?"

"Oh, its nothing Ms Ari," she shrugged, her smile growing wider in a perfect reflection of Mokuba's.

What's up with everyone today, Ari wondered as she reached to open her door. A sweet scent enveloped her as she stepped into the room and she breathed in sharply, fully embracing the fragrance. Walking into the room as if born on a cloud, she found herself in a garden of jasmine. Spinning slowly, she turned to see El and Mokuba standing in the doorway with smiles that could not spread any wider.

"What is this?" she asked in wonder.

They only grinned and she decided if she wanted any answers, she would have to search for them amid the gorgeous bouquets. Everywhere she turned she was greeted with the beauty and alluring scent of the charming white flowers filling every corner of her room. But amid them, she caught sight of an elongated box tied with a blue silk ribbon on her bed.

Hesitantly, she crossed to the bed and plucked at the ribbon. I'm terrified at what I'm going to find. Pulling the lid off, she let it fall away and stared at the small card sitting on top of the tissue paper. Scrawled with elegant flare it simply said "7 PM" signed with a graceful SK. The message was clear enough if what she suspected lay beneath the tissue paper.

Her fingers trembled as she pulled back the layers to reveal a silvery white satin gown. "Oh my," she whispered and then turned to look at Mokuba and El.

"I'll prepare your bath," El said quickly and disappeared into the bathroom. Ari's pale eyes immediately fell to Mokuba.

"All right, Mokuba. What is this?" she demanded with her hands on her hips.

"If I were you," he said with a smirk. "I wouldn't be late." With that he too made a quick getaway and Ari was left to stand disarmed and dismayed amid a field of jasmine.


Seto checked his watch anxiously, knowing he had little to worry about. There was no reason to be nervous…if you weren't the CEO of the most powerful gaming corporation in the world about to entertain the most difficult client of his entire career. Who would have ever thought that Seto Kaiba would be nervous about dining with a timid young woman who happened to hold his heart in the scarred palms of her hands?

Movement caught his eye and said heart froze. 'Every cloud has a silver lining' came to mind and she was it. Like a swan, she seemed to glide as she walked and he silently congratulated himself on his choice. The satin gown rippled about her as if she were a diamond herself and light reflected as she walked in sparkles of blue, green, and pink. It was a slinky number with jeweled spaghetti straps and a bodice that hugged her shape, the long skirt free flowing with her steps. Ari had a form a man simply had to appreciate.

Knowing how self-conscious she had always been about that form, and the fact that it was the dead of winter after all, Seto had been very careful in his selection. The ensemble came with a matching satin jacket of three quarter length sleeves to cover her shapely shoulders but not quite conceal the fact that her dress was slightly revealing beneath. It was tantalizing to every man in the room and his heart swelled with the pride of possession. Her hair had been pulled up away from her face, but the mass of curls tumbled down the length of her back. A smile tugged at his lips as he noted the white blossom carefully tucked in golden brown waves just above her left ear.

Even fine feathers could not disguise her humble beginnings for as she walked, she wrung her fingers anxiously like a timid child. Seto's smile broke free at the sight and when she met his gaze, an edge of her tension faded.

The maitre d' held her chair for her and soon she found herself alone with her tumultuous thoughts and the object of those thoughts. Kaiba had effectively disarmed her from the start with the irresistible display of glorious jasmine. What woman could remain aloof when showered with her favorite flower let alone a jewel of a gown and the unmistakable command of an invitation by the one and only Seto Kaiba?

"You look beautiful, Ari," he finally said.

"Thank you." She fidgeted with her napkin for a moment and then finally raised her pale eyes to his. "So is this business or pleasure?"

Kaiba arched a brow at her forward words and smirked. "I felt that you needed a break. You've been working too hard, from what I hear."

"Hardly," she laughed. "I can't make heads or tails of my own research."

Her musical laughter swept away his anxiety and he gazed at her intently. "Tell me about it."

"Really?"

"Sure. I want to know what you've been up to."

"Does this mean you'll answer some of my questions for a change?" she asked warily.

Seto smirked and reached for his wine. "We'll see."

By the time dinner arrived, the conversation had drifted quite far from the subject of research and Ari found for a moment she no longer cared about the details of her past. When he spoke she was entranced knowing that Kaiba never spoke so freely of himself as he did now in her company. She thirsted to know everything about him, about this man that she lo—

"Mokuba must be very proud of you," she smiled. "I know I would be."

"Mokuba is easy to please," Seto remarked with a distinct note of fondness that always seemed to creep into his voice when he spoke of his little brother.

"Have you ever done anything for yourself?" Ari asked suddenly and he blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"You have lived your whole life to make Mokuba happy. Every sacrifice you've made has been for him. I would do the same if he were my little brother. But haven't you ever done anything for just yourself?"

"I'm doing it now," he said softly and her calm heart fluttered in a startled panic.

Ari smiled warily as she sat back and crossed her arms. "Seto Kaiba, I get the suspicion you are trying to make me fall in love with you."

His eyes were unnervingly calm and steady as they held her own for one silent moment. "I do hate chasing what is already mine," he spoke quietly and Ari felt a sensational shiver finger her spine.

She wasn't going to dispute him on the matter of ownership. Her heart told her it would be a losing battle because it proclaimed him right. No one else effected feelings within her as this man did. From the moment she had awakened in the hospital her fate had been held firmly in his hands, bending to his will and she had all too easily submitted to it without thought.

"Do you always get what you want?" she dared to ask.

"Are you offering me a challenge?"

He's playing with me, she realized with both amusement and consternation. Her previous concern about where the night might lead now bore itself into full-fledge alarm. The last time she had seen that set look of intent in his eyes he had kissed her. Seto Kaiba was a man who owned things, had little patience, and always got what he wanted and at that moment his focus was only on her.

Ari glanced away too quickly to see concern filter into that steel gaze.

I scared her again. I told Mokuba this wouldn't work. I'm not good at the chivalry act and I sure could use some of it right about now. Too quickly, Ari was retreating into her shell before his very eyes. For a moment he had hoped she would stand up to him as she used to do, but her fire was still too reserved.

"Ari."

She glanced up hesitantly and he offered her a slight smile.

"It's okay," he told her.

"You are a cruel man, Seto Kaiba," she found herself saying before she could stop herself. Much to her further surprise, he grinned.

"That I am."

"And you're proud of it?"

"I'm a kitten compared to Gozaburo. I'm certain you would not have liked him at all and you are far more forgiving of people than I am."

"I suppose it is necessary to being a corporate giant, that you must sacrifice your humanity," she ventured and Kaiba laughed.

"And there is the Ari I know. I knew she was in there somewhere."

She smiled tentatively, for the first time seeing the woman she used to be through his eyes. It was fire he had been waiting for. Then fire she would give him…if she could find the courage to meet those deep blue eyes and not fall before she was ready.

"You like to provoke people, don't you."

"I like to see the best they have to offer," he returned.

"Have I lived up to your expectations?"

Seto gazed at her thoughtfully, tracing her innocent features with his eyes. "You never cease to surprise me."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," she decided with a slight laugh.

"You should."

"So tell me what you thought of me the first time we met."

"I thought you were a foolish little girl."

"So flattering. Was our second meeting better?"

"You pissed me off," he admitted with a slight grin. "Very few people ever dared to stand up to me like you did."

"What did I do?" She found it hard to believe that she ever had the guts to confront and anger him on purpose.

"First you rejected me, then you mocked me."

"And you let me get away with it?"

"Not by any means," he admitted with a secretive smirk.

Ari studied him curiously. "So how did I go from ticking you off to being acceptable dinner company?"

"You might be foolish and naïve, Ari, but I've never met anyone quite so stubborn."

She glanced down at her hands. "I'm sorry I'm not the woman you remember."

"Don't do that," his voice was notably sharp and she flinched. "Don't ever do that again."

"I—"

"Just be who you are, Ari, and make no excuses. It isn't you."

She nodded hesitantly, but could not meet his gaze.

"Ari, look at me."

Ever obedient, she did to find his eyes softer than she was used to.

"You once told me that you didn't want to be afraid anymore. You decided that, Ari," he told her, steel in his voice lending force to his words. "So don't be afraid anymore."

"Have you never feared for anything?" she asked softly.

Pained memory swept across his face. "Yes, I have."

She had not expected a positive answer from him, for he seemed invincible. Leaning slightly towards him, she gazed up at him through her long lashes. "What could you ever be afraid of?"

Losing you. But he could not bring himself to say the words. "You never could be satisfied with one answer," he spoke with amusement.

"I hate it that you know more about me than I do," she admitted with a childish pout.

Seto chuckled softly and Ari decided he could be quite pleasant when he chose to be.

"Might I be excused?" she asked as she reached for her tiny purse.

"Just this once," he agreed with an amused smile.

"Generous as well. You are a catch," she said wryly as she pushed her chair out. She was all too aware of his gaze as well as several others as she rounded the edge of the dimly lit dance floor. She could feel the warmth in her cheeks and shortly confirmed the maidenly blush that seemed to have made itself permanent for the evening. There were so many hidden meanings in Kaiba's words, she needed a moment to sort through them.

Does he truly love me or is it a matter of possession? He still won't tell me how we met, or how I came to work for him. Surely I had something substantial to offer otherwise I never would have caught his eye or his heart. For some reason, I feel knowing this to be vital to any kind of progression in our relationship. Her cheeks reddened even more at the thought of the fact that they had a relationship. His desire was not purely professional, of that she was certain. There was passion in his penetrating eyes when he gazed at her with intention that made her knees tremble.

Could she trust him with her heart, something so fragile and tender in the hands of someone so strong and at times cruel? Would he be merciful if she offered it to him? Did she dare?

When she had calmed the color in her cheeks, she ventured back out to rejoin him only to find he was no longer alone. Her steps hesitated at the sight of the other couple, but when Kaiba's eyes found her, she forced courage into her steps. Don't be afraid anymore. He makes it sound so simple.

"Ari, this is Corrin Abachi," Seto introduced her to the other businessman. "He's an overseas distributor."

"Pleased to meet you," Ari smiled as she bravely offered her hand. Abachi swept it up to his lips for a soft kiss.

"The pleasure is all mine. I've heard a lot about you, Ms Nieche."

"I deny everything," she said with a straight face and he laughed.

Corrin Abachi was a charming man with sharp features that pleased the eye, a laugh that pleased the heart, and a voice that could challenge Kaiba's in its dark appeal. His arm treat was a first class beauty. Ari suddenly felt like a lowly servant girl who had dared to borrow her mistress's finery for a stolen evening of excitement compared to her.

"Intelligent and charming," Abachi observed with amusement. "I'm envious, Kaiba."

"Ari is a valuable employee of Kaiba Corp," Kaiba replied evenly. "And responsible for Kaiba Corp's greatest development."

"Sounds tedious," the blonde treat murmured as she fluttered her eyes at Kaiba. "All that work and no play?"

"Jiana has a point," Abachi chuckled. "But you have me intrigued, Kaiba. Might I buy a piece of your time tomorrow?"

"I have an opening at two," Kaiba replied and from practice, Ari knew he was pleased with the outcome of this chance meeting.

"Two it is," Abachi turned a twinkling smile upon Ari. "Now I will steal your associate for a dance, if you don't mind."

Ari met Kaiba's gaze uncertainly, panic rising in her eyes.

Kaiba smiled reassuringly at her and she felt her heart skip. "That would be up to her."

Rock and a hard place. Not wanting to disappoint Kaiba, Ari agreed and allowed Abachi to lead her onto the sparse dance floor. A fleeting backward glance showed the gorgeous Jiana moving into position to "pounce" on Kaiba and Ari felt a sharp stab of jealousy at the woman's audacity.

"How long have you been working for Kaiba Corp," a deep voice drew her back to her dance partner and she offered a faint smile.

"Not quite a year yet."

He smiled warmly at her and as she gazed up into his sharp brown eyes, she suffered the acute sensation that she had met him before.

"What exactly do you do for Seto Kaiba?"

Ari tensed. "I-I'm not exactly sure."

He stared at her curiously and she forced another smile.

"I suffered an accident a few months ago and I have amnesia." Even as she said it she wanted to laugh at the absurd sound of it.

"Oh, yes. I read about that. So that was you. I'm terribly sorry to hear about that. It would seem you are doing better."

"Oh, yes. Kaiba has taken excellent care of me and I have managed to regain some of my memories." Ari found herself relaxing as she spoke. The man seemed unnaturally easy to talk to.

"He would be a fool not to. You are not one to be tossed aside, I assure you, Ari."

Ari felt her cheeks warm as his voice dipped.

"But I wonder…"

"Yes?" she glanced up expectantly.

"How much do you remember about Seto Kaiba himself?"

"What do you mean?"

Abachi gazed down at her with a disarming smile. "Are you certain he is the one you should trust?"

Before she could reply, he spun her suddenly and her other hand was caught, spinning her back into the arms of another. Panic rose in her chest and she instinctively tried to push herself free, but the grip on her waist tightened firmly.

"Ari." She felt the warmth of his breath against her temple and she sighed softly in relief. She should have recognized his touch, but every touch was still foreign, still frightening, and his was no different. But her heart warred with her fears, knowing the voice of the man it longed for.

Recovering from her surprise, she dared to glance up into his steady gaze. "You can dance," she murmured.

Seto chuckled softly. "I'm a man of many talents."

"I never imagined dancing to be one of them," she admitted.

"I have had need for it on occasion."

Ari glanced sideways at Abachi who now danced with the enchanting Jiana. Kaiba must have brought her onto the floor so he could switch partners. Possessive and protective.

"What will you be showing him tomorrow?" she asked.

"I will give him a taste of the holographic enhancement program we've been working on."

"Holographic enhancement. That sounds familiar," she murmured.

"It's your program," he told her and she looked up surprised.

"Oh." They danced in comfortable silence for a moment. "I want to be there," she said suddenly and she felt his arm tense around her.

"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea, Ari."

"But you said it's my program."

"And I'm the boss. So when I say no, I mean no."

"You didn't say no. You just said that it wouldn't be a good idea."

"I'm saying no now," he spoke firmly and she dropped her gaze.

What doesn't he want me to know? Is Abachi right? Is Seto someone I really can trust when I know he is deliberately hiding something from me? If I know the truth, will it change how I feel?