A/N: I do not own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters only my plot. The response to this story was absolutely amazing! I thank you all. I also want to apologize for not being able to post sooner, but my driver was corrupted…and that's a bad thing in the computer world. Using Mom's dinosaur was impossible. Now I'm back up (thanks to a boyfriend who is a wonderful computer geek). Without anymore yapping…

Chapter 2

Serenity found herself sitting at a table all alone. She was supposed to sit with the whole gang, but they had conveniently left her. Tea and Yugi were dancing magically on the floor while Joey trampled poor Mai's feet. Tristan and Duke were off arguing about only heaven knew what. Hopefully they had decided that she wasn't worth their attention and had found other pursuits. At least she knew that for tonight the harassment would abate.

She played with a sugar packet; slowly turning it while her thoughts kept coming back to a certain blue-eyed man. She could hardly keep her eyes off of him as she descended the stairs. Unfortunately, he seemed to be oblivious of her. If he did show an interest it wasn't in a good way. An involuntary chill raced down her spine and she shivered. Where was he now? She looked up from her sugar packet pyramid and scanned the room. He was nowhere to be seen. It didn't seem like he recognized her at all. It had been years since Battle City and she doubted he concerned himself with insignificant people, such as herself. He was a cold man and she never did enjoy his arrogance or selfishness. He was totally self-absorbed and besides, her brother hated him…still. Even after all the years that went under the bridge Joey maintained his grudge. She sighed, wondering if any of the minor tiffs mattered in the major scheme of things.

Kaiba wandered around the room looking for Mokuba. He kept stealing glances at the red head who was sitting by herself, looking as bored as he had felt earlier. The two men she had offered the challenge to were leaving her alone and arguing amongst themselves. Could she really be interested in them? He couldn't see it. Duke, possibly, the man was quite an entrepreneur, but the other one? What a joke he was. He had a third rate job somewhere and never could duel. Kaiba continued his search for his raven-haired brother. Finally, he thought, as he came across Mokuba scarfing down sweets from the dessert table.

"Have you gorged yourself enough tonight to ensure your own discomfort?" Kaiba asked the small boy whose mouth was surrounded by a ring of powdered sugar.

"No, I think I need some chocolate too!" He giggled as he tried to reach for another dish. Kaiba stopped his grab and pulled him away from the table.

"You're done Mokuba. I don't relish the idea of sitting up with you until dawn while you worship the porcelain god…" He dragged the boy to their table and forced him to sit.

"Why don't you ever have any fun at these parties big brother?" Mokuba asked, enjoying the magnificent decorations while he anticipated the next song the strolling carolers would sing.

"It's just an opportunity to show off wealth, nothing more. I don't associate with any of these people on a daily basis beyond demanding a better performance."

"Yugi is here and so are Tea and…" Mokuba started, but was quickly interrupted by his brother stating that he wanted nothing to do with any of them.

"You know how I feel about them, Mokuba. I'll talk to any one here but them."

Mokuba noticed Kaiba kept turning his attention to a lone girl sitting at a table by herself. He smiled, could he be interested in a female? This was a rare occurrence. The last time he had shown interest in a girl…when had he last shown interest in a girl?

"Do you want to talk to her?" Mokuba asked quietly. His brother's eyes hardly left her to acknowledge him.

"No." He replied quickly, too quickly.

"I know her if you want an introduction," Mokuba stifled a giggle as he offered assistance.

"How do you know her?" Kaiba asked, his eyes still trained on the vision before him.

"I just do. She's really nice and kind of pretty." Mokuba knew he should tell his brother that she was related to Joey, but what better time of year to pull a practical joke? This party just kicked up a few notches. It was then a business associate managed to pull Kaiba away from Mokuba to talk of a new duel disk prototype. Mokuba breathed a sigh of relief, because had his brother stayed he would have seen who sat down at the girl's table and his interest might have faded, to say the least.

"Hey Serenity, why so glum?" Joey asked as he took the seat next to her.

"I'm not. I was just thinking." She smiled at him and then at the other people who sat at the table.

"Why are Tristan and Duke ignoring you?" Mai asked, noting the two men who stood with their backs against the wall not too far away.

"I sort of created a bit of a challenge for them. I was getting tired of being harassed by the two of them constantly." She sighed.

"They're harassing you?" Joey asked, seeming to get a bit angry.

"Relax Joey," she assured him. "They both are just interested in dating me and they happen to be…"

"Too sweet for their own good?" Mai offered. She knew Joey would blow a gasket if he knew how the two men endlessly annoyed his baby sister.

"You just make sure whoever you decide to date…years from now, because you're obviously too young to date at this moment, treats you right. If he's not gonna treat you right he's got me to deal with." Joey warned.

"I am so old enough to date." She murmured under her breath.

"Serenity will finish her education first. A Bachelor's degree is fine for being a teacher, but with a master's she'll be sitting pretty." Mai smiled.

"Yes," Tea interjected, "but taking in service courses during her first year of teaching should be her priority, not furthering her college."

"A man would get in the way, I still think it's foolish that she would even think of dating when she has so much on her plate already." Mai shrugged.

"Yes, now isn't the time for her to date, she first has to establish herself at her school, start some in service and then in a year or so start college courses again. Men don't figure in for awhile." Tea and Mai were debating Serenity's life as if she was their child.

"I think the whole idea of her moving into her own place is a bit ridiculous." Joey added.

"There's just no talking her out of it Joey," Mai lamented. "I tried. She just won't listen to reason."

Serenity began to get very tired of them. They always did this to her, trying to decide her life and her future. She already knew she was going to hold college off for a year-her choice. She loved her job and the in services were vital right now, not college. She also couldn't wait to move into her apartment, which she had been doing slowly. She was almost completely in now and within two days she would stop living under Joey and Mai's roof. Thank God! Maybe she would actually be able to express an opinion or two now.

Her tolerance of their 'insight' finally came to an end. She excused herself and practically raced up the stairs to catch a breath of fresh air. She walked out onto the veranda and made her way to the railing. She gripped onto the banister for dear life until her knuckles turned white. She would always be a baby to them and that was her biggest pet peeve.

Even her love life was up for discussion. She wanted someone in her life who would understand her, not berate her and talk down to her. She was 22 now, hardly a little kid. She had her career; her own place and now she wanted love. She knew it would be too much to ask for them to treat her like an adult, but she could live with that if she had a special person to share everything else with.

The clearing of a throat made her jump. When she turned she saw the man whose eyes she couldn't stop thinking about.

"Won't your suitors wonder where you disappeared to?" He asked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

"Why would you care?" She asked without looking at him.

"I don't."

"Then why did you ask?" She sighed.

"Why did you offer that ridiculous challenge?" He questioned.

"Why not?" She replied, seemingly lost in thought about the stars in the sky.

"They're both morons." He stated with venom in his voice.

"Are you saying they couldn't find a gift to make me laugh?" She still didn't turn to face him. He wanted her to turn so he could look at her again and see if maybe his eyes had been deceiving him. It was entirely possible that she wasn't a vision and the lighting had skewed his thoughts, or the few drinks he had did. There was also the possibility that his eyes were tired from staring at a computer screen. She might be an illusion.

"I think they'll do well." She bit her bottom lip. She liked the sound of his voice. The raspy quality of it was making her nerve endings flutter.

"Is there a point you're trying to make?" She asked, finally turning around to face him.

She caught him off guard, he was fine criticizing her back, but her front was another story. Damn it, even in moonlight she looked amazing. He was quite annoyed with her now. How dare she…what? Look like that?

"I think you have quite an ego to make a demand like that." He folded his arms across his chest and stared at her with a look that screamed intimidation.

It seemed like Kaiba was the only one who believed she had a major ego problem. Most of the people she knew didn't believe she had enough brains to keep simple thought processes in her head.

"I wasn't doing it to be a snob, I just figured what better way to determine which man I should be with. They're nice, friendly, sweet and attractive. How do you choose between 2 people that basically have the same effect on you?" She leaned back against the rail and waited for a smart-ass reply.

"If they are so similar why choose one of them? If neither man has any effect on you beyond 'they're both so nice' why bother with them?" The flush in her cheeks told him he was stepping on her toes. She didn't want to be questioned about her train of thought.

"Why don't you play my game? Or are you afraid your loss would cause ridicule? I mean how hard can it be to make a simple girl laugh?" Her eyebrow shot up in challenge. He grunted in response. How wonderfully devious it would be to feign interest in Seto Kaiba. That would show all of them a thing of two. Joey would blow a gasket and it would prove to the others how grown-up she was. It was perfect, besides, he was kind of cute. There was no danger because even if he accepted he'd never get her to laugh. She wondered if he even knew how to be funny.

"I have no desire to have a woman in my life. The weaker sex is merely a nuisance in the grand scheme of things. They are unpredictable where as a computer is reliable and steadfast."

She looked at him, her hands and then the ground. She had no idea how to get him to enter her game. She had to figure out a way to intrigue him into her web.

He waited, knowing she was rolling things over in her mind, trying to find a way to entice him. He had seen the intelligence in her eyes, and he felt his resistance to her slip dangerously. He could vaguely hear his heartbeat in his ears as he became aware that he was standing alone on the veranda with one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

She licked her lips and then looked up at him. Her warm brown eyes caught his cold blue ones. "So, you would prefer a computer to a woman's curves?"

"Without a doubt," as much as she affected him he wanted to make sure she knew he would not bend to her will. He was surprising her; a man denying her was not something a beauty like her would be use to. He liked that fact.

Her lips parted softly catching his attention. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her. She would probably be innocent at first, but he knew he could stir passion in her and after a few moments of intimate contact she would burn for him. He suddenly realized that he wanted to be the one that stirred that fire, not Duke or Tristan. She was standing so close to him now it would be quite easy to pull her into his arms and taste her.

"Why?" She asked simply.

"I already told you computers are infinitely more enjoyable." He smirked at her.

"Then you obviously haven't met the right woman yet." She winked at him and then turned away from him to admire the stars again. Did she honestly think she was the right woman for him? The thought was laughable. She was magnificent on the eyes and her wit and minor intelligence were all pluses, but he had no desire to be someone's 'boyfriend'. She was also flirting with him, which was an oddity because women never flirted with him. He was too harsh and they knew who he was. She was scheming something.

"Why are you so anxious to have me embark on this gift buying thing?" He asked bitterly.

"You don't have to buy a gift, you could make one you know. I think a crayoned drawing from you would make me laugh faster than something you purchased with your millions." She refused to look at him, or else she could lose her never to continue.

His eyes could not be torn from her. She was a puzzle, now more than ever, and he could never resist a puzzle.

She turned, "I really must be going." She attempted to skirt around him, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Not until you tell me what you're scheming. Why do you want me in this absurd contest?" The contact of his skin on hers was mind numbing.

Serenity swallowed hard, briefly looked away for courage she was sure she had before he touched her, then looked into his eyes. "Because I like you best," she whispered as she blushed intensely.

It was an obvious lie, her mannerism told him that fact. He could spot a liar, one had to in order to achieve the high position he held.

"Really?" He growled at her, "I thought it was to simply see if you could bend me to your will. You know who I am, what would it say about you if you could get me to play your foolish game?"

"I'm not trying to prove anything." She looked up at him wide eyed as if she could look innocent of his accusation.

He didn't believe her for a heartbeat. However, a devious plan arose in his mind that he couldn't resist.

"If it is because you like me best then prove it."

"How?" She asked, not sure she could by any conventional means.

"Give me a token of your esteem…kiss me and prove your point." He sneered at her terrified eyes.

Her face paled as her eyes fell to the floor once again. She looked flushed, but he could also see the curiosity in her eyes.

That destroyed the barrier he had placed around himself guarding against her. He bent and slowly brushed his lips against hers. That single tantalizing taste left him wanting so much more. He fought the urge to gather her in his arms and take her mouth the way he wanted to take her innocence.

"One kiss…" she whispered as she closed her eyes in anticipation.

Slowly he pulled her close and caught her lips with his. Gently he stroked one hand down her cheek to her neck. She was as soft as she appeared to be, his one hand spanned her lower back as he tugged her against his chest. It took her a moment to respond, was it shock or fear? She didn't know. He tasted of wine and sugar. He wasted no time deepening the kiss, stroking her lips with his tongue before she opened for his explorations.

She gasped, and then sighed, finally burying her hands in his thick silky hair. He was hard all over and soon she found herself leaning into his warmth. Could this really be Seto Kaiba kissing her?

Finally he set her back down on her feet, when had they left the ground? She looked utterly dazed and flustered, but also delicious. He wanted her now more than ever. He had awoken her from her innocent sleep and he wanted to be the one to show her how amazing it could be…

He grinned slowly at her reaction to him. "You better be on your way." She looked at him with a strange expression on her face. "Remember you were leaving. Unless you would rather stay here," he grinned slowly, "with your favorite?"

She turned bright red as she jerked her hand away from him, he didn't even realize that he had been caressing it. She pushed passed him and slowly descended the steps back to the party.

A/N: Ok, sorry to have kept you all waiting. I hope it was worth it. Thank you all soooo much for the reviews! I couldn't believe how they poured in. Then, there I was unable to update. How frustrating! Please continue to read and review and I will assuredly update much quicker…I promise!