Greetings to you all! I'm so ecstatic about all the response I've received it's just so overwhelming. I never truly imagined I would get this much support, as I was quite unsure at the start of my writing on the site, thinking I would be chased off by an angry mob, my work being completely crap. I am so grateful to all, who seem to think otherwise. Now, my responses!

Hutchy: Glad you like it, and a slight hinting of the past will appear somewhere in the chapter, so look out.

Freakster: Thanks, can't believe you could be proud of the work. Look out for Kaiba coming into the chapter, and I try to make this a cuter romance, as it seems right with Yugi, being such an innocent character. Looking out for your long email soon.

Minor Arcana: If you don't like the pairing, no one is forcing you to read. Besides, there will be another Kaiba fic by me out soon, so hope you may take interest. Your chapter was great, and glad Yami was funny to you, more of his antics in this chapter.

the1koolkitty: Yami is trying to look out for what is best, and it was only an innocent kiss, a thank you of friendliness. I did say this fic would have fluff in it. So happy you approve and hope you like this chapter just as much. Looking forward to a reply.

Blue Dragon99: I don't wish to force you to read, as I said in my email. I understand, and know you can take more interest in my other Seto story, which I hope you take interest in. I do appreciate you being so polite though, a truly nice quality to possess, be proud!

Elusia: Thank you so much! I just thought it was appropriate, as Yugi would react that way, being so innocent. Thanks a million!

Secluded Sapphire: True, those displays of affections have hidden depths I agree. Good questions, but I don't wish to give away the plot. She does have secrets about her past and has dealings involving the police. Lucky she found a friend, but what would he think if he knew the truth. Keep reading to find out!

Kari: So happy you like it, and I will try to keep a steady pace with my updates, around three days between chapters.

Now for the chapter, and watch out for more word on my other stories. Love SGCred xxx

Chapter 3: Profession and Pastime

The small apartment that overlooked Domino was completely still as the day began. It was to be another hard working day, but in the past twenty-four hours things had developed greatly into a new status. For one, someone in the household was awake early, managing to shake a certain spirit from his slumber.

'What in the name of Ra is going on?! Yugi's never up at this time in the morning, especially with the hectic events that happened yesterday. So who's making that racket?' he mumbled to himself as he slunk through the house trying to find the source of the noise.

Everything seemed normal to Yami until he reached the kitchen on hearing a clattering noise. As he entered he laid his eyes on an unexpected sight. Kitty was standing next to the stove, fully dressed and was frying up bacon and eggs for breakfast. She was gently humming to herself as she flipped the food with a spatula, a pitcher of orange juice which she had already freshly squeezed sitting on the table where the plates and cutlery were laid out for the meal. Thankfully she didn't notice the pharaoh's presence as he watched her intently.

'A nice gesture towards Yugi for his help I suppose. This must have been what she meant by 'proving her worth' no doubt. But did she have to get up at this hour?! Seems like she could wake the dead...Oh great, I must be worn out if I'm making such a bad pun like that!'

Unfortunately, Yami was a little too forceful with his thought, which generated some of his shadow powers. Since it was only a slight frustration it didn't create a great out burst of energy. However it was enough to knock a bowl from the countertop and send it crashing to the floor, shattering on contact. This caught Kitty's attention, not to mention fluster the spirit and make him sweat-drop!

"Oh dear, what in the world happened? How could this have just fell off the bunker?" she questioned.

When she bent down to sweep up the pieces of the bowl, for a short second, she jerked her head up, as if feeling eyes upon her. Of course this made the pharaoh panic.

'Oh for the love of Anubais! I'm in trouble now.' he hissed in his head as he vanished quickly, retreating to the safety of the puzzle.

The crash had echoed through the small flat, which in turn made Yugi blink rapidly, waking him instantly. For once he didn't need his old friend shouting in his mind to stir him, as he bolted out of bed, tossing a navy robe on before heading towards the origin of all the commotion. As he entered the kitchen, he saw Kitty kneeling on the ground cleaning the mess, but her hazel orbs darted up hearing his entrance, meeting Yugi's amethyst gems, which reflected in her glasses.

"Morning, what happened here?" he asked on seeing her slight distress.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yugi. I woke up early so I thought I could be of use by fixing you breakfast, only the bowl somehow tipped off the tabletop and broke. You can take the cost out of my wages..."

"Nonsense, you didn't do on purpose. Accidents happen easily; it's no ones fault. It's just a bowl, I can replace myself." he reassured.

"Thanks, but it was the strangest thing. I was by the stove, and the bowl at the end of the counter. I don't understand how it could have fell off."

It did seem extremely peculiar to Yugi, almost perplexing, until he felt a strange pang of guilt and nervousness swell inside his head. The feelings were not coming from him though, but in an instant the young man guessed who had been the perpetrator. His counterparts weighted conscious seeped through the link.

'Yami, what did you do?'

'Okay, I lost control for a second and knocked the bowl over. It was an accident I didn't mean any harm. On hearing her up, I went to investigate and got a little cranky about been woken up, sorry Yugi.' he mumbled in shame.

'Just try to control your abilities please. I don't want Kitty to become suspicious so try to be more cautious now that she's around.'

'I understand, and I'm sorry again young one.' the spirit apologised as the link closed and the other two finished tidying up the shards.

After the mess was cleaned they were both able to sit and have a peaceful breakfast. Yugi thanked her for the meal; saying it wasn't necessary, but she insisted it was the least she could do, hiding her tinted cheeks. Now that things were in order they both thought it was best to prepare for opening the store, Kitty being so anxious on her first day.

Yugi went up to his room to dress and told her to wait for him in the shop. After quickly washing he put his clothes on and made his way downstairs. He wore black leather trousers with studded rims at the pockets along with a matching belt, collar, wristbands and a pair of boots. He had his black shirt lined with leather straps and collar, with a denim jacket which hung open over his shoulders. Before reaching the bottom of the stairs, he noticed Kitty looking around, and smiled at her attire.

Today she wore a black skirt to her knees, with dark tights and ankle boots. Chains and spiked accessories hung around her waist, along with her jewellery from the previous day. She also had a metallic purple v-neck top with cross patterns and flared sleeves. Also her hair was plaited and tied back with a silver sash. The boy's eyes nearly popped out at her appearance. Of course he drew them back them back in once she caught him looking and blushed tremendously.

"Ready for your first day?" he joked.

"You bet boss."

"Great, then let's get to work." he cheered as he came down into the store.

The day was pretty busy for the two, but definitely enjoyable. Customers flooded the place and Yugi and Kitty made a lot of sales, as well as giving advice. In their break hour, some kids stayed with them and duelled each other with the older teens gave them tips. For their amusement, the children asked the workers to compete in a duel, which they complied to, using rare cards and difficult strategies. Yugi won the match, but it was a close call, as Kitty did pin him down on a few occasions and when it was over, there was only a few hundred life points difference between them. Yami had been hovering overhead unseen too, watching with interest.

Later in the afternoon the crowds cleared a little making things more peaceful. They both decided to stay upstairs for a while. Soon the bell of the shop door ringing downstairs interrupted the tranquillity. Kitty said she would go and bounded into the shop area. As she appeared behind the counter, the two occupants in the store turned to her and stared in confusion.

"Excuse me, but who are you exactly?" one of them asked.

"I'm the assistant of the store, may I help you?"

"Look, I know this store is only occupied and run by one person, so please explain yourself." the other replied coldly.

"Well..."she stuttered, but thankfully Yugi appeared to save her from trouble.

"I thought I heard familiar voices," he chuckled, coming out from the back stairway smiling at the others. "Nice to see you again, Kaiba and Mokuba." he greeted.

The Kaiba brothers stood in the middle of the store, trying to comprehend what was going on. Mokuba had his cheerful demeanour around him, black hair wild as ever and violet eyes sparked. In casual jeans, trainers and baggy blue T-shirt, he was compelled to light up the room with a welcoming grin.

Seto was a less friendly, in other words his normal self. As always he was dressed promptly in a dark purple trench coat, black trousers and dress shirt, ready for business. Brown hair fell over cold blue orbs, though slightly less icy than the years previous. He had a blank expression on, calculating the change in the regular routine; Kitty.

"So, who's this Yugi?" the teen chirped.

"My new assistant in the shop, Kitty Carson. Kitty, some of my best customers and oldest acquaintances, Seto and Mokuba Kaiba." he introduced kindly as the girl smiled gently, still a little embarrassed about being thought of as an intruder. Feeling remorseful for his actions, the young boy walked up to her.

"Hey, sorry we where hard on you Kitty. We're just used to only seeing Yugi in the store. Hope we didn't offend you, right Seto?" he urged, knowing his brother would never apologise himself. He heard a grunt, taking it for a yes.

"It's okay, I'm just a little jumpy on my first day, no harm done." she accepted before Kaiba spoke.

"Mokuba, if you want to look for good cards, please do so now, I have a meeting this afternoon, so we have a tight schedule." he pressed.

The boy agreed to do as he was told, and Yugi said there was some interesting cards in the back, so he asked Kitty to take him to browse while he stayed in the front with Kaiba. He had to deal with Seto's personal order himself.

"I take it you want that booster set you asked for. I've been holding it for you." he expressed as the girl and teen disappeared.

"I would appreciate it." he stated firmly, while Yugi went under the counter to find the package. Kaiba had acted politely, which was quite a decent bonus. Then again he had been more tolerable since Joey was no longer around to break into fights with. Probably also due to the fact, that at some point that Yugi and Kaiba decided on a truce in their rivalry since they were no longer competing professionally in duels. If they were to battle again it would be on friendly terms.

"Since when exactly did you hire anyone to help you?" Seto questioned as the storekeeper came back up holding a parcel of cards in his hands.

"She came in yesterday, was hurt so I took care of her. I offered the job since she was looking for one, as I had been thinking of having someone for company and helping out here."

"So you finally came to your senses and realised you were slowly killing yourself by working alone?" he smirked as the other man looked confused as to how he figured out the truth. "You forget Yugi, I used to strain myself over hours of work those years ago, though I've slowed down recently. I can tell when someone over excels themselves."

"I suppose things will be easier now..." he sighed, but looked up to see a smirk on his old rivals face, similar to the one Yami wore the previous evening. "Wait, what's with the strange looks, something wrong Kaiba?"

"I was just thinking on another reason that you have invited this girl into the store. Could it be that the great King of Games has found his queen..."

"Not again! How many times do I have to tell people I only met Kitty yesterday and am not in love with her or going out with her." It was so frustrating to hear it over and over again, from Yami, the customers today saying how cute they looked together and now even Kaiba!

"You have to admit, you do get along well for people who've only known one another for a short time. I say things will become more intimate with you two sooner or later." he grinned in triumph.

The storeowner was about to retaliate, but saw Mokuba and Kitty coming back upstairs so he went silent, not wishing to involve her. The teenager paid for the cards he found and all said their goodbyes as the brothers turned to leave, but Yugi called back on remembering something.

"Kaiba, I have to pick up a shipment today and I think I can acquire some new rare edition cards. They're a new series dedicated to dragon monsters, so I thought you would interested." He said, seeing the man smile a little.

"Just reserve all the cards you achieve and I'll collect them at the end of the week. My business agenda is quite full at the moment you see." he replied as he turned and left swiftly leaving the workers alone.

"Mokuba's a sweetheart, but his brother is a little disturbing." Kitty commented.

"Don't worry, he's like that with everyone. He'll be around a lot so he'll become used to your presence. Besides, that's one of his best moods, you should have seen him when Joey still lived here." he laughed, remembering their arguments, as she nodded knowingly. Truthfully, the annoyance between the two duellists was well known, due to their arguments during tournaments being broadcast on international television.

"Best we close up and head to pick up the order, huh?" she asked.

"You're right we better move it if we want to get to the warehouse before it closes." he agreed.

They tossed their coats on and put up the closed sign on the door as they stepped out into the brisk air, heading downtown.

The streets were reasonably quiet as the pair walked along the pavement. It wasn't far to the storage area where they would pick up supplies, but Yugi had money for a taxi back since they both would be carrying a box of cards each, which were surprisingly heavy.

Once they arrived at the supply depo, the young man went into the small office behind the huge warehouses. In them were all kinds of goods for all businesses and shops throughout the entire West Coast of Japan. It was a miracle you could find anything among the millions of crates in the dozens of storehouses. Yugi signed for the shipment once it was placed and waited outside for a man to bring the boxes. Kitty had left to call a cab using the office phone but appeared after a few minutes.

"The taxi will arrive soon, so I hope the guy hurries up." She said, rubbing her hands together, it being slightly chilly for the season as gusts blew sharply past them.

"He won't be long...Hey are you cold, that wind picked up quite quickly."

"Yeah I know..."

A rustling at the back of the warehouse made Kitty jump. Turning, she looked onward, but saw nothing. However she still felt as if someone was watching her, as if the shadows were looming deviously in the darkness or the structures, concealing whatever would attack. Backing away a little, the girl couldn't help but shiver. The mild breeze gave a final icy blast before vanishing completely, taking the creatures in the blackness with it.

"Kitty, are you alright?" Yugi asked concerned.

"Yes, I just thought...never mind." she choked, dismissing it as her imagination.

"Are you sure? You looked a little shaken."

"It wasn't even real, so it couldn't have been anything. No one else is around here."

'That wind that passed was unnatural, it was caused by a presence.' the spirit echoed into Yugi's mind, upon sensing some danger close by.

'What do you mean Yami? I didn't see anyone, though that wind was pretty unusual.'

'Someone was watching both of you, but it's a figure I couldn't place. All I could tell was they left I very menacing feeling and it seems Kitty picked it up as well.'

'I better comfort her, she looks rattled. We'll discuss this later.' the boy said shutting the link.

He protectively touched her shoulder and whispered that everything was fine and no harm would come to her. She smiled and quickly embraced him in reassurance. She thanked her friend for his thoughtful words of kindness, making him turn redder than ever.

"Really, it's okay Kitty, I just wanted to help." He flustered; hoping no one would notice his hot face. He did see she was still shivering slightly. Whatever that had been hanging around had scared her, and he hated the thought of her being upset. So he thought of an idea.

"Hey listen, how about we drop the stuff off at the shop, then we'll go to the park for a walk. Will that cheer you up?" he requested as she pulled back a little to answer.

"That would be nice. Thanks Yugi." Kitty smiled.

Soon the crates were handed to them and they sped home in a taxicab for a quiet evening, unaware of the eyes watching their movements the whole time.