-sobs bogus tears- 100+ views already! MWAH, MWAH!

(This chapter explains the past a bit...should clear a few things up)

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Yu-Gi-Oh.

:(At the bookshop, still in flashback) :

Delightedly, the girl that Seto Kaiba had first encountered in the shop held her hand, palm up, to the other girl. "Cough it up, I won the bet!"

The other girl, Kham, grinned and rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you weren't serious when you made that bet."

The first girl, Jo, snorted and replied, "Pfft, yeah right. You knew I was dead serious. Pay up!"

Kham laughed and said, "Yeah, yeah, okay, I'm taking my lunch break now, make sure you don't burn anything down alright?" She ducked out the front door before Jo could make any more demands for the bet money.

Yes, indeed, these two girls were the owners of the shop, though it seemed as though they were too young to be. Both were smarter than other girls their age and had managed to be accepted at the most prestigious high school in Domino, Japan, where they had met. Both had graduated with top marks.

Jo, bored with the regular city life, decided to travel abroad for a year, while Kham stayed behind and participated in every duel tournament she deemed important enough to grace her presence with.

Due to a horrible sickness that kept her bed-ridden for weeks a few months ago, she had been forced to decline her invitation for the Battle City Tournament. Kham could be heard ranting for days that if she had been on that stupid blimp, she could've beaten anyone'sbutt, including the CEO that had just walked out of the store.

Jo, on the other hand, didn't duel at all, but knew enough basics to keep up with Kham when she was in one of her all-mighty-duelist modes.

After traveling around for some time, stopping at fascinating places such as Egypt, where Jo almost got lost more than once in the tombs, she had decided to come home, ready to pretend to be a regular teenager for a bit.

That hardly proved to be entertaining, as both Kham and Jo didn't go to school, seeing as they had already graduated. One day, when Kham was wandering down the streets of downtown Domino, where there were too many designer clothing shops for her taste, she came up with the idea of opening a bookshop just because she could and because Jo was constantly complaining about the surplus of books she had obtained during her traveling.

For a while, they were happy with this little shop. Though they didn't really have many customers, the shop was always just a comfortable place to hang around. Everything had a monotonous way to it: eat, work, and sleep.

Then everything changed.

The day had started out normally enough, with the occasional customer wandering in, then wandering back out, and around 6 PM, when the sun was setting, Jo and Kham were just closing the shop.

Glancing around once more around the shop to make sure everything was in order for tomorrow, the two girls got ready to leave the shop and walk their separate ways.

"Greetings, ladies."

Both turned around to see a tan-skinned man wearing a turban and a robe that seemed more of a wrap than anything.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed now," Jo smiled apologetically at him.

"I am aware of that," the man continued in a low, unemotional voice.

"Can we help you with anything then?" Kham asked.

The man acted as though he hadn't heard. "A few months from now, on exactly the 18th day of the 11th month, the Tall One shall enter this shop. Be aware, he does not know what he will find here, but it is your duty to make sure he leaves with the book."

"…what?" Kham asked skeptically. Really, she had no patience for wackos like him.

"Tall One?" Jo echoed.

The turbaned man repeated his prophecy, and suddenly, he was gone. Not there. Poof. Gone with a swish of his cloak.

"What was that all about?" Jo asked, turning to Kham.

"Who knows? Probably some person trying to get attention."

"Then how'd he disappear like that?"

Kham shrugged. "Whatever, probably some weird magic trick he learned on TV. Look, it's getting late, we should get going now."

Jo nodded, still puzzled at what the turban man had said.

After that, the two had basically forgotten what had happened that day, and it stayed like that until a few months later, when Jo was reading some manga or another and happened to look up and see Seto Kaiba standing outside of their shop. And he was very tall indeed.