Sweat gathered around Yugi's temples as he drew. It was the Magic card Magic Formula. He put it with his other cards and tried to think. The Spellbinding Circle Trap he had laid down earlier was useless now that he knew Mokuba wouldn't be attacking any of his Monsters. And Magic Cylinder had saved him but he couldn't keep avoiding a thousand points of direct damage every turn. Yugi had to cut Mokuba's strategy right here if he wanted the chance to tip the Duel into his favor. It wouldn't be much of a cut but it should give him some time to figure out what to do next.

He turned over one of his Magic cards. "De-Spell. I'll use it to destroy your Malevolent Nuzzler."

Mokuba flipped over one of his own and took great pleasure in informing Yugi, "Mystical Space Typhoon. It negates the activation of your Magic card and then destroys it."

So much for that idea. Yugi put the card in his Graveyard and went back to studying his hand cards, feeling the sweat on his head bead down the side of his face. He now had three turns to get rid of Leghul before Mokuba could win the game. But the thought of attacking the kid's monsters and performing Mokuba's penalty still made him uneasy. First kisses were nerve-wracking enough so gambling them on a Duel Monsters game didn't make it any easier. Plus, having Mokuba on the receiving end only made it worse. Yugi would be ashamed, his friends might be disgusted and Kaiba would go berserk.

But he couldn't just let Mokuba win. The boy had found a way around Yugi's penalty so there had to be a way around his.

Yugi picked out two cards and laid them down. "I'll cover one card and then play Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack. And uh, a-and…"

Mokuba leaned forward.

Yugi's conviction failed. "And end my turn."

End his turn? Mokuba felt a rush of frustration. Why wasn't Yugi attacking? He couldn't hate the idea of kissing him that much! Not enough to throw the whole stupid Duel away!

He practically tore his next card as he yanked it from the top of his Deck. Pot of Greed. He put it in his hand. He'd show Yugi. If he wouldn't attack on his own then Mokuba would make him. "I'll attack again with Leghul and then end my turn."

The score was now three thousand Life Points apiece. Yugi drew his next card and attempted to discreetly dry his face with an arm. He wouldn't panic. There was still time to work something out.

He had drawn Premature Burial. He put it facedown and then scooped up his Magnet Warriors. "I'm sacrificing Gamma and Beta to the Graveyard to bring out my Buster Blader." He placed it next to his Black Magician Girl.

"Let me guess," Mokuba said. "My move?"

"Uh, yeah. Your move."

There was a shocker. Mokuba picked up his next card and then smirked in such a way that Yugi was instantly reminded of Kaiba. And from what he could remember that smirk had always meant trouble. He ran an arm alongside his face again.

Mokuba noticed this time and grew smug. So Yugi was having a harder time than he had thought. The possibility of losing was starting to look like too much for him. A little more nudging just might finally seal the deal.

"You look scared, Yugi. How come? You've had lots of chances to finish off my Monsters and I really don't get why you're not attacking me. I mean it's not like I can do much to stop you. Your attacking power is way higher than mine."

Silence. Yugi didn't know if it was the feigned innocence in Mokuba's voice or the stress of the situation but suddenly, he was ten times as unsure about everything. Mou hitori no Yugi had tried to warn him about something like this but he had refused to listen, trusting in Mokuba's friendship and insisting that he had just wanted to prove himself. But instead of doing that the boy had proceeded to set Yugi up for a loss with the use of his penalty. There wasn't any kind of worth or honor in that. So why...?

"Finish your turn, Mokuba."

He was only too happy to oblige and laid down the card he had just picked up. "Okay. I'll equip Leghul with this Reinforcements Trap card to give him another five hundred points of attacking power and attack your Life Points again."

That now made the score three thousand to fifteen hundred. Yugi cringed. Fifteen hundred of his Life Points, gone. Luckily the Trap would only last for this turn before Mokuba had to send it to the Graveyard but at this rate, it didn't matter. Mokuba was still going to go straight for his Points and there wasn't a card in Yugi's hand that could stop him.

Mokuba laid his Pot of Greed facedown. "One more card facedown and my turn's done."

Yugi reached for his next card. From here there were really only two options left and both had their pros and cons. Yugi could end the game right now and have the satisfaction of the win and knowing that he had beaten Mokuba at his own devious game. But at the same time he would still have to deal with the kissing penalty. One for each Monster. And Mokuba had three on the field.

On the other hand, Yugi could let Mokuba believe that he had successfully backed him into a corner and forfeit the Duel. That way Mokuba would get his underhanded victory and Yugi would get a clean, kiss free getaway. Problem solved. But the downside was that it was too easy. The wussy route,Honda would say. Plus, Yugi still had that problem with admitting defeat.

Mokuba saw the indecisiveness on Yugi's face and decided that more nudging was in order. "What's taking so long? Make a move, Yugi."

"I'm trying."

"Trying? You don't look like you're trying! You look like you want to run away from big, scary Mokuba and the Duel nobody's supposed know about. I thought you had more guts than that."

Yugi clenched a fist. "I'm not running anywhere. I told you, I'm not afraid of you, Mokuba."

"And I told you to prove it so what are you waiting for?"

Yugi had to bite back the urge to yell in response. The kid had a lot of gall sitting there and demeaning his actions when he had tricked Yugi into this position in the first place. Even after all he had said in Mokuba's defense to Mou hitori no Yugi the boy had turned out to be just as conniving as the Pharaoh had predicted.

The fist slowly unclenched. "I'm waiting to decide if this Duel is worth finishing."