Most of this story is centered around Kaiba (duh), but the POV will shift occasionally to help either move the story along or add to the plot, or even both. Just thought I'd tell you...

Chapter 2

First, Kaiba had to ditch Yoshie. He could just call her and break up, but where would the fun in that be? He had major influence in many places, so why shouldn't he use his power? And besides, it would be bad for his image, seeing as their relation was seen as good and strong in the media. He didn't fancy being called a "heart-breaker" publicly.

So instead, he called a modeling agency in California and suggested Yoshie to them. They liked the idea, seeing as they needed more Oriental models. And so, a few days later, Yoshie rang up Kaiba, excitement lacing her voice. "Can you believe it?" she was saying. "I get to go to California!"

"But what about us?" he asked, knowing the answer. Yoshie wasn't the long-distance type.

She faltered. "Oh, um… I'm sorry, Kaiba… I'm not sure how well a long-distance relationship would work out."

"I understand," he said after a moment of silence. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

"Yes. Goodbye, Kaiba Seto."

The next step was going to take patience. He'd have to get Faye interested in him enough to go to a gala with him. But he would have fun with it. The first motion would be flirting…

That day, Yugi-tachi had invited Faye to the arcade again. So that was where Kaiba went now.

He found them there, all right. He kept his distance, but they were so engrossed in their game that they didn't notice much at all. Faye was playing Mortal Kombat with Jounouchi. And was winning. A few minutes passed, and Jounouchi slapped the game in frustration while Faye gave a small, happy exclamation. But then she rubbed her eye.

"Sorry, my contact's suddenly bothering me," she apologized. "I'll just go to the restroom real quick, okay?"

"Okay, we'll be here," Yugi said. She smiled and headed off to the restrooms at the back. Recognizing his chance, Kaiba moved into action, heading for the restrooms as well.

Anzu caught a glimpse of him. "Hey, was that Kaiba-kun?"

The rest of them looked up, but he was gone from sight. Jounouchi, already frustrated from losing, hissed, "What's he doing here?"

Yugi tried to calm him down. "Don't forget," he reminded his friend, "Kaiba-kun's a gamer, too."

Kaiba made his way to the restrooms and leaned coolly against the wall opposite the woman's restroom – though not right in front of the door, that would have been awkward. He was a little ways away. Soon enough, Faye exited the restroom, her attention on her purse. She zipped it closed, looked up, and stopped when she saw Kaiba.

"Oh," she said. "Kaiba-san."

"Faye-san," was his reply.

She smiled tensely. "Fancy seeing you here. Guess it's to be expected. You own your own gaming company." She gave a small, uneasy chuckle.

"No need to be nervous," he told her, never taking his eyes away from hers. Her eyes flicked occasionally away to look at the wall or the floor, but as if chastising herself, they always returned to meet his gaze. "So I heard that you play Duel Monsters," he said. He had to get her comfortable with him.

She laughed again, a shaky tinkle. "Yeah, but I'm nowhere near your level. I'm not that good yet."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "If you want, I could help you with your deck."

She faltered. Was that the wrong thing to say? "Oh, um… Yugi-kun's already promised to help me…"

"Oh, okay," he said. Quick! Think of another thing to keep the conversation going! Mokuba's face floated into his mind's eye, and he asked, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, two older brothers," she said.

A voice piped up behind Kaiba. "Faye-chan? You're taking a long time." It was Anzu. She saw Kaiba and stopped, glaring at him. "Oh, I thought I saw a snake."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at her. However, before leaving, he took Faye's hand and kissed it lightly. "Thank you for your time." And with one last exchange of cold looks with Anzu, he left.

Anzu quickly grabbed a stunned Faye's other hand. "I'd stay away from him if I were you," she said. "He's rotten to the core. Yugi insists otherwise, but that jerk has yet to prove Yugi right, and me wrong." Now, she brightened, tugging Faye along. "Now, come on, Faye-chan! Yugi's already beat Jou-kun at Mortal Kombat three times!"

Yugi-tachi = something like "Yugi's group." Basically, when I say Yugi-tachi, I mean Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda.