A/N: Please be advised that this chapter is 51 percent lemon, so please enjoy!


Chapter 15: Victories

Even though Kaiba knew that Mokuba would be disappointed later, he made the decision to cut school in order to duel his rival privately. There were just too many unknown factors going on between them for Kaiba to be comfortable with anyone—especially his younger brother—watching them.

Thus it came to be that Kaiba was in the backseat of his limo with Yami. Although Kaiba was at a loss as to starting a conversation with his rival that wasn't about dueling, Yami had no such problem.

"So how pissed are you that aibou took a picture of you as a kitten?" Yami asked as he shifted his body to better see Kaiba.

The truth was that Kaiba was extremely annoyed by it, but it wouldn't pay to let his rival know that. "It's not like there's anything I can do about it," Kaiba groused as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, but I suppose there are worse reactions to have," Yami commented, a bit surprised by Kaiba's attitude toward it. "Besides, it's not like he knows that it was you."

"A small saving grace," Kaiba crossly muttered, still annoyed.

"Are we going to Kaiba Land?" Yami asked, not recognizing the direction they were heading.

Shaking his head, Kaiba replied, "No," because not only did he not want witnesses, he especially didn't want security cameras recording them. "We're going to my house. I have an arena that I built."

"Even better," Yami eagerly decided, his eyes lighting up with potential.

The look Yami was giving him made a flare of heat course through Kaiba, but he did his best to ignore it. No, he refused to allow himself to be distracted during their duel! Although truth be told, he was a little surprised that Yami had behaved himself so far and kept his hands to himself. He had fully expected Yami to do something and Kaiba refused to acknowledge that he might be disappointed. Ridiculous, Kaiba thought to himself with a shake of his head.

"What?" Yami asked, unclear as to Kaiba's reaction.

"Nothing," Kaiba brushed it off with a dismissive wave. "Are you ready to be defeated?"

Grinning at the bravado, Yami asked, "Isn't that my line? Seeing as you've yet to win against me."

"That will change today," Kaiba arrogantly predicted.

"Mm, I love that cocky confidence of yours," Yami retorted with a smirk.

It was an odd thought and Kaiba couldn't stop himself from pointing out, "Most people find it irritating."

"I'm not most people," Yami reminded Kaiba. "I find it…endearing."

"You are seriously damaged," Kaiba realized, unable to understand his rival's reaction.

Shrugging, Yami agreed, "Yeah, probably, but that doesn't make me wrong."

"Whatever," Kaiba said, unwilling to concern himself with it any further.

Recognizing the dismissal, Yami shifted topics, "How much longer until we're at your place?"

"Impatient much?" Kaiba asked instead of answering.

"Aren't you?" Yami questioned with a laugh, knowing Kaiba was eager for their rematch as him.

Rather than confirming, Kaiba merely commented in a lofty voice, "I didn't realize you were so eager to lose to me."

As the ride continued, so did the banter and it was a relief in light of their altered relationship. However, it was a relief when Isono finally pulled into the long driveway. Trying not to look overeager, Kaiba led the way into his home, pleased when Yami's teasing gave way to his serious dueling demeanor as they took their respective sides in Kaiba's modified dueling arena.

It was an intense battle and Kaiba's everything was engaged in it. He felt so alive and invigorated, even as he ached for a win. But Kaiba refused to let himself to become distracted by Yami, even though he couldn't help but notice how attractive Yami looked when he was in his element. Knowing he was holding his own against someone as powerful as Yami was a heady power trip of its own, but Kaiba pushed it aside to think about later. It didn't pay to think on how Kaiba had managed to reduce someone as powerful as Yami down to moans and sighs through his actions a few days ago. Even though his rival's growls of irritation reminded him of that time together.

Kaiba was just relieved that Yami didn't seem distracted and was giving the duel his all. It meant Kaiba was a worthy opponent and he fought hard to finally claim a victory against his rival it was a fierce fight with neither giving an inch to the other. It was close and down to the wire, which only excited Kaiba further as they neared the end of their long duel. There was no gap between them; it was an even and fair fight for the taking.

When Kaiba played his final card down, he stared in disbelief when he realized that he had actually won. He had finally achieved his greatest desire, defeating as the reality of the situation hit him. Kaiba was overcome with a rush of complicated emotions. He finally had his victory and even though there were no witnesses, it couldn't take away from the fact that Kaiba had finally won against his only and greatest rival. He had always pictured himself laughing maniacally and denouncing Yami over his loss, but that urge was strangely absent. Even though Kaiba had defeated his rival, somehow it didn't render Yami to worthless. No, they could still challenge each other because only they were worthy enough. It was shocking to realize that even though he had won, Kaiba still wanted to duel against Yami again and again.

It was enough to draw Kaiba's attention to Yami. Kaiba wasn't sure how he had expected Yami to react to losing. Once Kaiba would have wanted to see him battered and broken by the loss, but now such a thing held no appeal to Kaiba. No, he appreciated Yami's dignity, even if he found it infuriating at times. As they descended the stairs to meet in the middle of the room, Kaiba could see the intense pride in Yami's eyes, filling him with a mix of feelings.

They stood there and stared at each other for a few moments as Kaiba continued processing his victory. Yami finally spoke, "Congratulations," and it pulled Kaiba back into the reality of the moment.

"I won," Kaiba stated, surprised and annoyed by how shocked he still sounded about that fact. "I fucking won."

"I know," Yami confirmed with a grin at the reaction. "You were really great."

Unable to address the compliment, Kaiba realized, "You're not mad."

"Of course I'm not," Yami told him with a gentle smile. "I enjoy seeing your victories, even if they're against me. You've become a true duelist, Kaiba."

It was true, Kaiba realized. He had fought for the sole sake of competing with his rival. Kaiba hadn't fought to defend his honor, or save his brother, or bring more reputation to his company. It was a pure fight, which made the win that much better. And it was all possible because he had such a powerful rival who challenged him in every way to become better.

It made Kaiba close the distance between them as he really looked at Yami, as if seeing him for the first time. No one other than his younger brother had ever inspired Kaiba to do so much, but somehow Yami seemed to push him to achieve greater things just by existing. As infuriating as Yami could be at times, Kaiba knew that his life would have much less meaning without his rival in it. All of which drove Kaiba forward, kissing Yami almost hesitantly before delving deeper when he wasn't rejected. Yami sighed into the kiss as he drew their bodies closer, pleased by the initiative and not the least bit surprised when it was escalated.

Kaiba had thought winning couldn't feel any better, but being with Yami in such a way was proving him wrong in the most pleasurable of ways. How could merely kissing him incite such feelings in him?

"I like how you celebrate," Yami teased in between kisses, finally daring to strip Kaiba of his uniform jacket to move things along quicker.

Was that what Kaiba was doing? He wasn't so sure. All he knew was that in that moment the urge to kiss Yami had been too strong to resist, even if he didn't understand it. As much as he had thought about what they had done previously, Kaiba still wasn't completely sure about things. He had discovered desire and it certainly was focused exclusively on Yami and no one else, so Kaiba figured that had to count for something.

And while Kaiba enjoyed dominating Yami's desires, that was a totally separate thing from dominating him. "I'm not doing this because you were defeated," Kaiba finally found the voice to say, the very idea of it bothering him.

"Shh, I was just teasing," Yami reassured Kaiba before stripping out of his own jacket. "I wasn't viewing this as a conciliatory action, if that's what you're worried about."

"Good," Kaiba accidently declared before he began kissing Yami once more. When Yami started to take off Kaiba's shirt, he automatically returned the favor. This time he didn't need to be told to touch Yami, Kaiba was more than content to do so. It was interesting to feel his rival melt against him, even as he found himself starting to respond to the similar treatment he was currently receiving.

Deciding he would continue until stopped, Yami began working off Kaiba's pants and briefs, which were kicked to the side with his socks. Yami was surprised that Kaiba was only half-hard, but he was confident that he could quickly change that.

Caught up in the moment, Kaiba did the same to Yami, leaving them both named and endlessly touching each other while kissing. It was why Kaiba needed a moment before he said, "Wait."

Even though it wasn't what he waned to hear, Yami rested his hands on Kaiba's hips and looked up at him patiently. "For what?"

"Is this…okay?" Kaiba finally asked, still not pleased with his word choice. However, Kaiba got the impression that this time they were going to do a lot more than just touch each other.

Smiling reassuringly at Kaiba as he brushed his thumbs against tempting hipbones, Yami replied, "As long as you're okay with it."

"Didn't you say that we were supposed to go on a date first?" Kaiba reminded Yami, even though it was somewhat embarrassing.

Holding back a grin at that, Yami pointed out, "We just made time to spend together doing an activity of shared interest. I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a date."

"Works for me," Kaiba finally decided before resuming kissing Yami enthusiastically.

Having expected more objections, Yami was pleasantly surprised by the action. He indulged in it momentarily before parting and walking toward his bag that he had discarded earlier, completely confusing Kaiba in the process.

"What are you doing?" Kaiba wanted to know.

"Don't worry about it," Yami said, quickly getting what he wanted before returning to Kaiba's side while keeping it concealed in his hand.

Before Kaiba could ask a follow up question, he was startled when Yami got on the floor and lay down in front of him. "Now what the hell are you doing on the floor?" Kaiba demanded in exasperation.

"Waiting for you to join me," Yami answered, the cold floor raising chills on his body that didn't go unnoticed by Kaiba.

Looking down at Yami, Kaiba skeptically asked, "Shouldn't we relocate upstairs if we're going to continue…this?"

Grinning at that, Yami tried to reason him, "I'd rather stay here where you finally had your first win over me. Plus, this is something that I've always…pictured us doing. Besides, there's plenty of time for beds later."

Shrugging in response, Kaiba finally concluded that if Yami was fine on the floor, it was all that really mattered. It was with that in mind that Kaiba finally moved to join him, even as he muttered, "This is weird."

"It'll be sexy as hell soon," Yami promised with a knowing smirk.

"If you say so," Kaiba said in a disbelieving tone as he carefully settled himself over Yami.

Taking advantage of the fact that Kaiba was still unbalanced, Yami flipped them to that he ended up on top with a triumphant noise. Setting aside what he had grabbed from his bag, Yami began kissing Kaiba before he could lodge a protest. However, he soon left Kaiba's lips in favor of finally getting the chance to explore his tempting body.

"You really don't need to do that," Kaiba told Yami as he warily watched him.

"You forget that this is enjoyable for me, too," Yami said with a laugh as he continued working his way down Kaiba's body with feather light touches and teasing kisses.

Kaiba was about to protest until he remembered that he had in fact derived some pleasure out of doing the same to Yami. Even if it was just to see what new noise he could wring out of his rival. Instead of saying anything, Kaiba tried to force himself to relax as Yami continued. He was definitely starting to feel the actions and Kaiba subtly shifted beneath Yami as he tried to settle himself and his emotions.

It was odd for Kaiba to accept such attention at first, but gradually he became accustomed to it. When Yami suckled on one of his hipbones, it finally drew a soft gasp out of Kaiba as an unexpected feeling shot through him at the action. "That's more like it," Yami murmured against him before tracing it with his tongue. "Although…"

"Although what?" Kaiba asked when Yami trailed off and said nothing further.

Getting excited by his own plan, Yami shifted himself so that his face was next to one of Kaiba's ears. Rather than answering with words, Yami licked along the curve of Kaiba's ear before gently taking the earlobe into his mouth and suckling on it, toying with it using his tongue. Kaiba 's whole body instantly went rigid at the action and Yami couldn't stop himself from chuckling low in his throat, pleased when he heard Kaiba's breath catch at the sound. Reaching between them, Yami grinned when he felt Kaiba was fully hard and responding to his touch. Lightly stroking his member while he continued, Yami gently tugged on the earlobe at the same time. It caused Kaiba to arch up under the touch with a moan he couldn't contain and it pleased Yami greatly. Nipping at the earlobe teasingly before letting it go, Yami began his next attack on the upper part of Kaiba's ear. Kaiba inhaled deeply, trying to control his reactions, but the dual stimulation was starting to become too much. "Yami," Kaiba tried to warn, but there was a strong note of need in his voice that displeased him.

"Hm?" Yami hummed before nipping as Kaiba's ear to see what happened.

Kaiba's whole body reacted to the action and it was enough to cause him to stop Yami's hand from stimulating him any further and flip their positions. His breathing was a bit ragged and Yami's smug look was doing him no favors. "What the actual fuck? They're just ears."

"At least now I know why you always flicked yours away from me when you were a kitten," Yami teased as he tweaked one with his free hand.

"It was annoying," Kaiba protested as he tried to move away from Yami's hand.

"And now it's a turn on. Go figure," Yami commented with a laugh as he made himself more comfortable under Kaiba.

It made Kaiba lean forward and take Yami's ear into his mouth in an attempt for revenge. All it did was make Yami laugh as he said, "Unfortunately for you, that doesn't work on me."

"What the hell?" Kaiba muttered after he released Yami's ear.

Running his fingers through Kaiba's lush brunette hair, Yami encouraged, "You'll just have to work harder to find my weak spot."

"Oh, I'll find it," Kaiba swore, determined not to lose.

Grinning at the reaction, Yami told him, "I look forward to it."

With that in mind, Kaiba enthusiastically began exploring Yami's body in search of his weakness, but without much success. While it was true that Yami seemed more sensitive in general and was quicker to make noises, Kaiba could tell that he still hadn't found that spot that would drive Yami into mindless lust. It was frustrating, but Kaiba persevered with his efforts. When Yami's stomach proved fruitless, Kaiba worked his way back upward toward his neck. When Kaiba grazed over Yami's collarbone, he was surprised when he heard his rival's breath hitch over such an unusual spot. It encouraged Kaiba to explore further, licking along the prominent edge of the clavicle before sucking on it teasingly. That earned him a whine that got caught in Yami's throat. When Kaiba began lightly nibbling on it, figuring his rival always seemed to be doing that to him, Yami began shifting under him restlessly with a moan that went straight through Kaiba. Figuring turn about was fair play, Kaiba reached between them and took Yami's member in hand as he began lavishing attention on his rival's collarbone, although he found it bizarre.

Even as Yami thrust into Kaiba's hand, Yami warned, "Unless you want this to be over before we begin, I'd suggest you stop."

Releasing Yami's length, Kaiba said in disbelief, "It's a collarbone."

Laughing at Kaiba's reaction, Yami reached up and tweaked one of his ears as he asked, "And how is that any weirder than ears?"

"It's not, but…" Kaiba started to say before he caught notice of the small bottle on the floor. "What's that?"

Inwardly amused that it took the normally observant Kaiba so long to notice, Yami answered, "What you need to proceed."

Leaning over to grab it, Kaiba examined it with an arched eyebrow. "You were certainly…prepared for this outcome."

Shrugging with a grin, Yami replied, "What can I say? I'm an optimist."

"A pervert is more like it," Kaiba retorted before returning his attention to the small bottle.

"It works better if you actually use it instead of look at it," Yami teased, annoying Kaiba.

"Yes," Kaiba irritably snapped. When Yami snickered in response, Kaiba glared at him in return, but his rival wasn't the least bit phased by it.

Taking pity on Kaiba, Yami ran his fingers over his own entrance as he moaned, "Here."

Something short circuited in Kaiba's brain at the sight and he acted without thought as he dispensed some lube onto his fingers. Even as his mind logically understood that he would fit inside of Yami's tight entrance, Kaiba found it hard to believe as he studied the spot before touching it.

Just as Yami was about to encourage Kaiba further, he moved on his own. Cautiously sliding a single finger inside his rival. He was surprised by how little resistance he met and it made Kaiba realize, "You've done this before."

"To myself? Yeah," Yami confirmed, relieved when Kaiba finally started to move his finger. "Never with anyone else, though."

The mental image of Yami working himself on his fingers made Kaiba groan when combined with the tight heat embracing him. "And you thought of me?" Kaiba asked, his voice sounding rough at the thought of such a thing.

Realizing Kaiba was more interested in the idea than he was trying to let on, Yami elaborated, "I often pictured you taking me hard and fast after a duel as I pleasured myself," as he began casually stroking himself.

Kaiba recognized that he shouldn't find that such an appealing image, but damned if the thought of it didn't turn him on immensely. "Yami," Kaiba said, his voice dark with need.

"Like that, don't you?" Yami realized with a smirk as he stopped toughing himself.

Even though Kaiba refused to say anything, his eyes gave away his interest. "Why am I not surprised?" Yami murmured as he wished Kaiba would speed things along a bit. "I'm not going to break you know."

Still distracted by the thoughts of Yami alone and thinking about him, Kaiba was slow to process what was really being said. Hesitantly, Kaiba slipped in another finger, earning him a pleased noise from Yami. "Don't you find this to be a tedious process?" Kaiba questioned, even as he continued moving his fingers inside of Yami, occasionally trying to spread them to see if he could accommodate more.

"Yes, but it's worth it," Yami promised. "So fucking worth it…"

"But you've never actually had sex," Kaiba pointed out, finding it an odd assertion.

"That doesn't mean I haven't done other things," Yami countered, stirring Kaiba's curiosity.

"What other things?" Kaiba asked as he finally added a third finger.

"You've never explored your body?" Yami questioned, even though he thought he probably knew the answer was no.

Shrugging, Kaiba truthfully replied, "I never saw the point."

"Then I very much look forward to showing you later," Yami murmured, getting excited all over again by the possibilities.

Rather than commenting on that, Kaiba stated, "You never answered my original question."

"I have some toys," Yami replied, finding no harm in it.

"Toys," Kaiba repeated without understanding.

"Dildos, vibrators, that sort of thing," Yami explained with a grin at Kaiba's eyes widening in surprise.

Unsure what his reaction was to that, Kaiba could only ask, "Why?"

"Because I never thought this would actually happen," Yami answered. "Plus they're useful because fingers just aren't enough."

"And yet you thought about it anyway," Kaiba stated, finding it weird.

Holding back a laugh at how pragmatic Kaiba was being, Yami said, "It's called fantasy for a reason. Didn't you ever fantasize when you were alone?"

"Why would I waste my time fantasizing about something when I could just make it happen?" Kaiba asked, not seeing the point in wasting so much time on such pointless thoughts.

Realizing that Kaiba was completely missing the point, Yami figured that was a conversation for another time. "I'm good now, so please," Yami pleaded, feeling like he was going out of his mind with want.

That was all Kaiba needed to hear to move on with things. Slicking himself up, Kaiba realized that he had nothing to clean his hand off with in the room.

Figuring out what Kaiba was looking for, Yami suggested, "Use your shirt."

"My shirt?" Kaiba repeated, sounding horrified by the idea.

"I still have to wear mind home," Yami reminded him with a laugh. "It's water soluble, so it'll be fine. It won't stain, promise."

Grumbling about it, Kaiba still complied and got up to go and find his shirt. Only after he was done did he return to Yami's side, where he was welcomed with open arms. Kaiba didn't reject the embrace, nor the sweet kiss he received from Yami. He parted long enough to look down in order to line himself up and slowly push into Yami. He was unprepared for the sensation of that slick, tight heat embracing him so intimately and Kaiba had to hide his face against Yami's neck for a moment as he tried to adjust. When Kaiba fully in, Yami moaned softly in relief at finally having that ache fulfilled. Running his fingers through Kaiba's hair calmingly, Yami sighed, "Kaiba," and grinned when it caused the brunette's hips to thrust instinctively.

"Sorry," Kaiba immediately apologized as he moved to face Yami once more.

"For what?" Doing what you're supposed to?" Yami teased. "You're not going to hurt me, Kaiba."

It gave Kaiba the confidence he needed to move and he started with shallow thrusts as he got used to the movement and the sensations. Yami put his hands on Kaiba's broad shoulders, loving the feel of strong muscles moving. Kaiba allowed the touch as he continued, finally starting to thrust harder and deeper as Yami kept pace with him. Kaiba was pleased by the random sighs of pleasure he was earning, but he wanted more. Slightly shifting his balance, Kaiba moved his hands from bracing on the floor to holding Yami's hips. He knew he had succeeded with a better angle when Yami cried out in pleasure and surprise. "Oh, right there," Yami gasped and for once Kaiba didn't balk at the order. Instead he continued, watching as Yami arched and writhed under him with the most erotic of moans that spurred Kaiba on as they continued.

Kaiba largely remained quiet throughout, but when Yami tensed around him, it caused him to make an, "Ahh," noise that pleased his rival. "It's okay to be noisy," Yami told Kaiba. "In fact, I like it."

"I can tell," Kaiba said with a smirk that made Yami punch him playfully on the arm.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Yami complained as he let his arms fall to the floor while he luxuriated under Kaiba's ministrations.

"It's…not a bad thing," Kaiba finally forced himself to admit.

Grinning, Yami realized, "You like being able to make me moan."

"It's better than hearing you talk," Kaiba joked with a grin that made Yami want to kiss him despite the words.

"I don't believe you," Yami said with a laugh. "Besides, we both know you'd get bored if I was as quiet as you."

"And what's to prevent you from getting bored with me?" Kaiba asked, knowing he wasn't always the easiest person to talk to normally.

"Because you always keep me on my toes having to read between the lines," Yami replied.

Deciding that Yami was far too coherent for his tastes, Kaiba stepped up his efforts. It was met with success when Yami arched up underneath him with a loud cry and Kaiba moaned again at the feeling of his rival's whole body reacting to him. It felt so good to be surrounded by his rival in such a manner that Kaiba could hardly believe it. How could heat and friction feel so damn amazing?

When Yami shifted his position to wrap his legs around Kaiba's waist, he thought he was going to be overwhelmed by the ensuing pleasure as he held on tightly while calling out, "Kaiba!"

"Yes!" Kaiba growled in response, ceaselessly moving as he neared his peak.

Determined to last longest, Kaiba reached between them and started stroking Yami's member. It made Yami writhe as he was reduced to fragments of words and sounds. He knew he wouldn't last for long and when Kaiba moaned, "Yami," because he had tightened up further as he came close to his edge. It took but moments before Yami came, his whole body reacting to the experience.

As Kaiba felt Yami's reaction at the most intimate of levels, it caused him to come as well, arching back as he thrust as deep into his rival as he could. His mind went completely offline in that moment and all Kaiba could do was breathe as he came down off of his high. Kaiba had never known it was possible to feel so good and he remained still for the moment, just feeling everything deeply.

Yami leaned up and stole a languid kiss before asking, "Doing okay?"

"Yeah," Kaiba replied, still processing everything. He had thought what he and Yami had done the other day had been good, but this was a whole new level of amazing that had Kaiba's heart racing. He could feel himself starting to soften, so Kaiba pulled out, causing Yami to groan in protest over feeling so empty.

Yami reached up and guided Kaiba to lie down on his chest. All Kaiba could think was, "I'm too tall for this."

Even though he didn't want to move, Yami reversed their positions so he was no on top of Kaiba. "Better?" Yami asked with amusement in his tone.

Hesitantly wrapping his arms around Yami, Kaiba quietly murmured, "Mm," as he waited for his body to return to normal. Still, he didn't quite want to let go of the almost peaceful feeling that overcame him as the bliss ebbed away slowly.

"So how amazing do you feel right now?" Yami asked as he toyed with strands of brunette hair.

"Aren't you used to this?" Kaiba asked, not rejecting the touch.

"Being by yourself and being with the person you like are two totally different things," Yami told him. "I've never felt that good in my life."

It pleased Kaiba to hear for some reason and he found himself running his fingers along the curve of Yami's spine, sending shivers through his rival. "Seriously?" Kaiba questioned, finding it hard to believe for some reason, despite having never achieved anything close to what he felt when by himself.

"You just can't compare fooling around to what we just did," Yami replied. "Being together with the person that you're like is what makes it so special. Knowing that you're the one touching me…it's amazing."

Kaiba supposed he could understand that. Everything was just more somehow when he was with Yami. He shivered when Yami began lightly tracing the shell of his ear with one of his fingers. "You really need to stop doing that," Kaiba told Yami, but there was no real reprimand in his voice.

"But it's fun," Yami protested, still toying with Kaiba's ear.

"For you, maybe," Kaiba retorted.

Laughing at that, Yami said, "Oh, please. Like you're not enjoying it."

Poking Yami in the side, Kaiba replied, "That's not the point."

Kissing Kaiba's neck, Yami explained, "I just can't help myself. Now that I know I'm allowed to touch, I don't want to stop."

"Then what the hell are you going to do when we're in public," Kaiba wondered.

"I know how to behave when there's other people around, relax," Yami told him. "But there's nobody here now but us, so…"

It made Kaiba realize that his brother would be home soon and he held up his arm so he could check the time on his watch. "Shit, my brother should be home in about two hours," Kaiba informed Yami.

"Then that gives us plenty of time for lunch," Yami happily said as he forced himself to move from his comfortable position.

"Yeah, I guess I could eat," Kaiba decided after a moment. "But first we should clean up. Bathroom is over there."

Yami looked over in surprise to where Kaiba pointed. "I didn't realize you had one in here," Yami commented.

"It made sense for long hours when I'm practicing in here against the AI," Kaiba explained.

Rather than commenting, Yami walked toward the bathroom. Kaiba was going to start getting dressed until he remembered the state of his shirt. He decided to take his dirty clothes upstairs to change, cleaning himself while he was while he was in his room. Quickly redressing, Kaiba returned downstairs where Yami was waiting for him fully dressed.

"I was wondering where you had run off to," Yami commented when Kaiba appeared.

"I wasn't wearing my shirt in that condition," Kaiba stated as he led the way to his kitchen.

As they began discussing their lunch options, Kaiba couldn't help but marvel at how natural it felt. He had expected some awkwardness, but there was none. Instead they fell into a natural rhythm like they hadn't always been rivals but friends. It allayed a concern that Kaiba hadn't even realized that he had. Rather than thinking on it further, for once, Kaiba just let it go and focused on making lunch as they continued to talk.


A/N: It's fun watching Kaiba work things out in his head and Yami is such a patient teacher. Quite the pair, these two. But hey, Kaiba finally won a duel!

NEXT CHAPTER:

Kaiba's demeanor was fine, but Mokuba was still a little worried.

Next chapter will go up on Sunday, September 28th, so please look forward to it! Until then, I look to hearing your reactions to this chapter. Thank you again for the continued support on this story!