A/N: I got a couple reviews stating that my character was Mary-Sue…and when I reread my story…they were right! Well, this is the revised, version-with-hopefully-better-grammar, edited, whatever-you-want-to-call-it version of "Tormented Love"

Chapter 1

Niki yawned as she stretched her arms. She looked at her computer screen one final time before shutting it down and packing all of her things. She'd worked 3 weeks non-stop – plus overtime – at Kaiba Corp. working on several papers, programs, etc. that her employer gave her.

Her raven hair lay in a messy bun hanging by the chopstick ornaments in her hair and her maroon eyes were dull and tired from the extra work she'd pushed in. At that moment she could've been mistaken for a 28-year-old instead of her actual age of 17 years.

She opened the door to her office and walked out. She roamed down the halls of Kaiba Corp. eager to get home to her soft bed. As she rode in the elevator she looked at her watch. 10:45. She'd been there since 4:30 after school had ended.

Working for her CEO, and classmate, hadn't been easy ever since she got to Domino but she made it work for her. They arranged her schedule around school and home time. She'd work from 4:30 to 9:45 on weekdays and work Sunday mornings from 6:00 to 1:30. She had Saturday off. She knew it was tight but she stuck to it, even putting in overtime when her work got interesting. She enjoyed her work and Kaiba didn't seem to complain.

Her first impression of him had been a cold, business-strict one. But the more she worked in the company not only was her intuition correct but he seemed to be egotistical and work-crazy. But no matter how cold his exterior was she had a feeling he wasn't always like that. Everyone noticed it when his brother and VP of Kaiba Corp., Mokuba, came around. Even Kaiba's hard shell had seemed to break a bit when the boy was around.

She stepped out of the elevator and out of the company building. She cursed herself as she noticed the pouring rain from underneath the patio roof of the building. Niki covered her head with her suitcase and ran to her car. She unlocked it and rushed into the driver's seat. Starting the engine she sat there and sighed to herself. She had to face the torment of her nanny/friend, Gloria. She loved Gloria like a sister but she was so uptight it caused Niki to go haywire at times.

She pulled out of the parking lot towards her house/estate. She'd always loved living in the suburbs like back when she was in Texas. The suburbs of Dallas were busy but they still were nothing compared to the hush hours of the actual city. But when she was sent to Japan, her aunt gave her a literally life-savings worth of money to thrive on. Niki used the money wisely to buy her a house and needy things first before blowing it on new clothes.

Niki may have seemed "perfect" but she far from it. She was much of a klutz and constantly hurting herself. Not only that, she had the bad habit of smoking back in Dallas. She had quit only weeks before she started working for Kaiba Corp. and often had the craving for a smoke or two. She promised herself to quit and fought of the urges.

She parked the car in her garage and ran upstairs avoiding Gloria at all possible. She turned on her bath and sat there as the tub filled. She sighed and glanced over at the full-view mirror that hung on the door. Her body, from an angle, seemed to be perfect. But if she turned you could see the mishaps in her figure. She had a near flat-chest and her hips were slightly too small. Her raven hair fell to her back and her maroon eyes gleamed in the steamy bathroom.

She sighed and grabbed a washcloth and undressed and stepped into the bath. She relaxed under the feel of the warm water against her sore body. She cringed as a knock on the door disturbed the room's peace.

"Yes?"

"Miss Niki! When did you get back?" Gloria's elderly voice snapped from behind the door, "where you working overtime at Kaiba Corp. again?"

Niki groaned, "yes, Gloria! But I'll be done for a while, promise!"

"You better be! Your foster parents wanted me to look after you! That also means saving you from the clutches of that workaholic you call a boss!"

Niki laughed at Gloria's comment, "I know, Gloria. Let me finish up."

"Fine, your dinner's on the nightstand. And I took the liberty of clearing all business from your schedule tomorrow!"

Niki sat upright in the tub in alarm, "what? Who gave you permission? What if it's something important?"

"One day off won't kill you, Niki Walker!"

Niki laid back in the tub, "why me…?"

The sun's screaming rays woke residents of the Walker house, Niki being one. She groaned and looked at her clock. 6:30. School started soon. She sighed and strode out of bed with hesitation. She squeaked as her ankle was tangled in the sheets and her face met the beige carpet first.

"Ow…" Niki groaned. She pulled herself up, untangling her ankle and walked over to her closet. She pulled out her school uniform from her closet and quickly dressed. She put her hair into a high ponytail, the end reaching a little past her shoulders.

"Niki?" Gloria's voice echoed from behind the door as Niki put on her shoes.

"Yes, Gloria?" Niki answered opening the door.

Gloria stood there, her elderly features visible to the naked eye. Her silver eyes were dull and worn out and her usually well managed brown hair seemed to be getting a few gray hairs. The woman was in her early 40's but was usually mistaken for a mid-30's woman.

"Good, you're up. Yugi and Joey are downstairs for you," her chiming voice rung in Niki's ears clearly. The younger woman just nodded and walked downstairs to meet her friends.

Yugi stood from his seat on the couch and turned the TV off and was about to go get Joey, who had helped himself to the food in the kitchen, when Niki walked in. "hey, Niki. You look tired," the tri-haired boy greeted.

Niki smiled and scratched the back of her head, "what can I say? I was working overtime…I don't really need the money but I get so caught up in my work."

Yugi laughed, "That's you. The computer wiz."

Niki blushed in embarrassment, "I'm no wiz. I'm not really that good…"

"You know more than me! All I can do is work Microsoft word and I need help with even that!" the two chuckled at the comment as the blonde-haired boy walked out of the kitchen with a soda and sandwich about a foot tall in his hands.

Niki smiled at him, "you ready to go?"

Joey gulped down the bite of his sandwich and nodded, "yeah, the others are meeting us at school."

Niki sat at her desk next to Duke and Joey near the back. She sighed as the teacher instructed them to take out their textbooks. The class froze when the door opened to reveal Seto Kaiba.

"nice of you to join us, Mr. Kaiba," The teacher said sternly, "take your seat, please. May I ask why you were tardy?"

Kaiba turned his gaze from the teacher to Niki much to her shock, "I was busy with some unfinished projects at the company thanks to a few employees."

Niki held back a growl, 'heartless $$hole!' She glared as he walked past her his suitcase knocking her book of the desk.

He smirked at her, "whoops. Can you get that?" Niki frowned at his attitude. Oh how she hated his attitude towards her.

"yeah, no problem," she said sarcastically. She picked up her book and turned around and smirked, "oh yeah, be careful…"

Kaiba frowned as he noticed her smirk. As the teacher was called out he sat down only to meet the ground in a junk heap of what used to be his desk. The class busted into laughter at the CEO's little klutz moment.

Niki laughed along with the class but halted when Kaiba's cold blue eyes locked on her. She gulped knowing she may have risked her job on that little prank.

"I want you in my office right after school, Miss Walker," he said through clenched teeth grabbing his suitcase taking a seat near his old one. Oh yeah, she SERIOUSLY risked her job on that little prank.