The Perfect Stranger The Revised Edition

by Princess Jadykins

Yami is a half vampire/ half human guy on the run from his vampire family, however once he meets Tea Gardner he risks the chance of falling in love, which places them both in grave danger. Warning: Lemons and disturbing plots! CHAPTER 21 FINALLY UP

12. Chapter 12

Peace! Peace! Please don't kill me I enjoy life!

Hahahaha! Hey guys, I know it's been a long time since I've seen all of you, but I swear I wanted to be here! It's just that fate wasnt on my side this time and neither was time. Anybody that knows what colledge is like, knows that assignments are brutal and time consuming, and I like had ten of them to hand in, in a short period of time, which not only allowed me a little free time, but also damaged my creative streak, so I not only apologise for my lengthy absence, but also for this chapter, which I feel could have been so much better, but that would have taken me longer...I tried okay!

Anyway, i'd like to welcome our two new reviewers, you guys are so awsome, thanks for taking an interest in this story and for your kind, supporting words, I totally heart you guys! And I'd like to thank Razz for allowing me to use her character again and been on my side! I totally heart you too, and I'd also like to thank Toxcinity for allowing me to use her character, which you will meet shortly, and of course a big thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this story, because without you there'd be no point...and I'd like to thank my mom and dad, and uncle and...LOL

By the way, this chapter is going to allow you to get to know a little more about our beloved half-vampire Yami! Enjoy!

Rated: M! Not intended for children! As promised I added a lemon, for the sake of lemon! Warning sign included for sensitive reading...oh and swearing.

Disclaimer: Do we have to go over this again?

AN: Love you guys...(plz don't kill me)

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Chapter 12

(AN: This is sung by Yugi as an intro - imagine happy country music, with a banjo solo, along with a fiddle)

Aint nothing I can do – aint nothing I say

The pain just won't fuckin' go away!

My head's all airy and abnormally light

Not a fucking clue, of what happened last night!

A drink or two and then I was gone

Now I feel like I was screwed by King Kong!

Can't say shit without a slur

And Ra damn the whole fuckin' world's a blur!

Aint nothing I can do, aint nothing I can say

But right now things –Are Not Okay!

Cuz while I'm here with a hangover from hell! ! !

My brother's getting laid by the Gardner girl!

---

Her father's angry and evil gaze held hers as her nightmare raged onward mercilessly, causing her body to subconsciously tremble in fear. There was no background scenery like most of her other dreams had had, only cold blackness that made her father's, pale and intimidating form, almost seem to glow. He appeared wherever she turned, surrounding and closing in on her…cornering her in the worst possible way. She wanted to scream out Yami's name, knowing that he was the only one that could save her, but her lips refused to move. She couldn't move, completely frozen in fear of him. She could only see, hear and worst of all…feel.

She gripped on her pillow tightly, breathing in rapid, shallow breaths, too caught up in her nightmare to register that she wasn't alone. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his chest, burying his face in her hair, while she slowly shifted into consciousness. For some strange reason, she felt warmer than on most mornings, though cool at the same time… Without opening her eyes, she breathed in deeply, allowing her to catch a familiar and intoxicating scent that practically had her squirming beneath its spell.

She felt his lips softly kiss the smooth flesh of her forehead and her starry jewel-like eyes, immediately fluttered open in surprise. It was the first time she had ever woken up in the arms of another, especially one that seemed to still feel the same way about her, as he did, the night before.

He smiled down at her warmly, while propped up on his elbow and his head rested against a closed fist, his eyes seeming a shade to cooling lava and his dark caramel tan that seemed to glow. "Good morning love," he whispered huskily.

She felt a light blush burn on her cheeks, as a content smile curled onto her lips, her heartbeat accelerating to a hundred beats a second, before the butterflies, annoyingly, began to stir awake in the pit of her stomach. If there had ever been a moment she had ever imagined herself, to be in bed with an angel, this would have been it. Seeming to have read her mind, he lifted his arm from around her waist and gently stroked her pinkish cheek with a delicate gesture, his eyes warmly burning into hers.

"You're still here!" she whispered in amazement, her words sounding more like a question than a statement. "You…you didn't leave me?"

His smile widened as he gave her a firm nod, answering the obvious, which seemed to open the door to heaven in her eyes. Her starlit eyes grew larger as his words sunk in, which he found so mockingly adorable and had to fight back a grin. He tangled his fingers in her feather-soft hair, briefly going over his vivid memories of the night before, as he came up with a verbal answer to her question. "There is nowhere on this earth that I would have rather been, than right here beside you when you woke up."

Before either of them registered the other's movement, their lips met in a passionate lip lock, and her arms somehow managed to snake their way up his sides and wrap around his neck, pulling him down onto her, while the silky white sheet slid further down their exposed bodies. He released her the moment that she needed air, though couldn't quite help but sneak in a quick peck on a very sensitive spot that he had found on her neck during their second 'session'.

She moaned softly as arousal once again began to overtake her body, which Yami instantly picked up on, and decided to stop his advances almost immediately, though not without reluctance. His body already craved her more than it craved blood, and he wanted nothing more than to initiate a third round…but if they were ever going get out of bed, he would have to stop thinking about what they could do in bed.

"We should probably get up now, huh?" She sighed; as she brushed away some of his lightning bolts that dared to stand in the way of his scarlet eyes. Her tone indicated that it was the very last thing that she wanted to do, and quite frankly, Yami felt the same way. If he really thought about it, there was no reason at all why they had to leave that warm and inviting bed, and instead lie in each other's arms and perhaps continue on from where they left off…

"Yeah, we probably should," he answered quickly, before his mind overtook his actions, as it led way to a very appealing place. He bent down to kiss her forehead gently, before making a move to get out of bed, when he felt a hand grip onto his shoulder, which halted him instantly.

She gave him a suggestive smirk, before lifting herself up against him and breathily whispered in his ear, "Let's go for a shower."

Oh the thoughts that ran through his head at those five little words that practically had his body burning in anticipation. He wondered briefly if she had even noticed that his skin had just jumped a few degrees higher than what it had been, but only briefly, because her seductive suggestion had played the right, brainwashing, tune on his one-tracked mind. There was no way in hell that he could resist her or pass up on her offer, being a gentleman and all of course. He smirked mischievously to himself as his arms automatically began to wrap themselves around their designated locations on her body and he powerfully lifted her up into his arms, while she giggled in delight.

"You don't need to ask me twice!" he whispered in her ear menacingly as he carried her to the bathroom…

(- Lemon Warning -)

Tea felt her back been pressed up against the cool white tiles of the shower wall, before she felt Yami's lips pressed up against hers. His hands were rested on her hips, stroking circular patterns on her dry skin as their tongues fought a fierce battle for dominance. Tea could feel herself getting wet as her body ached in that familiar pleasurable way, and wanted to skip the foreplay and get right to the point…but Yami had other ideas.

Breaking away from the kiss, he began to attack her throat with gentle nibbles and pecks, each of which caused an electrical spark to course through her body, which excited her further. He purposely took his time in finding the sweet spot on her neck and when he did, she almost crumbled in his arms.

Taking her revenge, Tea pressed herself up against him, teasingly rubbing up against his hardening length, which caused him to shudder, before tightening her grip around his neck. She felt his body tense as waves of pleasure travelled through his body, and hit where it counted. He grunted lowly through clenched teeth, resting his head on her shoulder while she trailed rough kisses along his collarbone.

'You are not going to win this!' She vowed challengingly in her mind, unknowing of his ability to read it.

'Wanna bet?' He smirked against her skin, excited by the challenge she had set.

Yami pulled back from her slightly and caught her lips in a heated kiss, sliding his tongue along her bottom lip before she met him with her own. He leaned into her while reaching out and turned on the hot water tap. Water sputtered and spat out the showerhead, before finally cascading down onto them in silver streams. He could no longer keep his hands to himself, and roamed over her wet skin freely, entranced by the erotic feel and desire it whelmed up in him.

His touch held an electric burning sensation that set off mini-orgasmic pulses through her body, and it wasn't long before her breath caught in her throat as the ache became unbearable. The falling water seemed to intensify their pleasures, which Yami decided to take advantage of.

He explored her thigh as he lowered his hand, making his way to her entrance at a tortuously slow pace, but slow enough for Tea to realise what he was doing. He slowly massaged her entrance without fully entering her, allowing her to experience the pre-pleasures of it, which was slowly pushing her over the edge. She spread her legs a little further apart to allow him more access, to which he gladly complied with by slipping in a finger that was immediately confronted by tight walls that aimed to trap and hold him.

She moaned loudly at the intense feeling of it, which caused yet another intense spike of arousal in Yami, who had been nearing his edge for quite a while now…perhaps the foreplay was a bit much. They needed each other and they needed each other now!

Almost as though the roles had changed between them, Tea seemed to know what he was thinking and yanked him upwards, hastily crashing her lips against his. He picked her up and held her securely into place, while she wrapped her legs around his waist. Every touch seemed to set them off, especially the feeling of their skin sliding against the other, heated by their passion rather than the water.

Knowing that she was reaching her limit, Yami slowly thrust himself into her, gasping when he felt her walls clamp around him in a tight grip. Tea growled in content as she gripped on to his shoulders even tighter than before, mentally begging him to hasten his pace. Yami was all too willing, and immediately thrust in and out of her, in rapid paces, earning moans and growls from both of them as the intensity of their orgasms built up to an overwhelming level.

"Faster!" Tea gasped, her hands clenching and unclenching, as the pressure of their lovemaking continued to intensify. "Fas…oh…god…Yami!" she panted, dragging her nails across his back, as she began to reach her climax.

He began to lose his control over himself and began to thrust into her a lot more harder, so much that her body slid up and down the wall, bobbing up against him, which just seemed to turn him on more. He growled as he felt her walls clamp around him in a death-grip, which released her orgasm, and in doing so caused him to climax as well.

Red hot, soaring pleasure fired through their bodies, seeming to intertwine and mould with the other's, as they gripped on to each other for support and rode out their pleasure. Tea saw stars as her body calmed, but the effects of her climax refused to leave and continued to pulse through her body, while Yami struggled to function. He breathed in gasps, trying to calm his body down by concentrating on the water that was now thundering down on his back and of course making sure that she didn't fall…trying to think of anything but how fantastic their sex had been.

Panting heavily, Tea pulled Yami's face to hers, kissing him deeply before hesitantly pulling away. "Thank you," she whispered.

(Safe to read)

---

His low whimper echoed off the tomb's walls and recoiled back to him in an almost mocking gesture, reflecting his weakness to him as though shown through a mirror in the ceiling. Yugi was only two years old, a toddler in the eyes of a human, but the vampires saw him differently, especially his father, who demanded that he never showed weakness…even if he was practically just a newborn.

He could not cry, for tears were a sign of weakness, and he could never show or ever allow himself to be afraid, because vampires feared nothing, and considered fear to be the worst sign of weakness of all…but Yugi was afraid and he wanted to cry, a fatal combination in which his father might have easily found an excuse to kill him for.

His fears were childish, but at the age of two when the world was still anew and alien, his fear of literally stepping out of his comfort zone was frightening. Unlike his talented brother Yami, who had been gifted with a natural athletic ability, which allowed him to learn to walk much faster than the average newborn, Yugi found the act to be increasingly difficult and scary. There was just something so terrifying about rising above the ground on two tiny little legs that barely held up his weight, and splitting them apart as an attempt to move forward, risking a nasty fall onto the solid ground that would most definitely hurt…

He was an incredibly late developer in the art of walking for his kind, an early sign that he was weak in his physical development. It also didn't help his situation, when Yami had not only mastered walking, but had caught up in his speech and showed signs of strength time and time again, which left Yugi practically in his older twin's shadow.

He whimpered again, but this time kept his volume low and inaudible as to remain completely inconspicuous to the dark world around him that secretly found him unworthy to live, when he felt a tiny, but firm grip on his shoulder. He spun his gaze around to look up into the crimson eyes that mirrored his, filled with curious warmth and pure childish innocence that seemed to hold a huge question mark in them. He cocked his head to the side slightly, staring deeply within his younger brother's eyes.

"What's wrong Yugi?" he asked in a soft voice that had an amazing way of calming him down.

Yugi blushed and looked away shyly while he brought his knees up against his chest. Even then Yami behaved more like an adult than a young child…and even then he was able to literally stand taller than him. His presence only made Yugi feel that more inferior.

"I can't do it…I can't walk," he whispered sadly, his lip quivering.

Yami shifted slightly, still keeping a firm grip on his shoulder as a small smile spread across his lips. "Of course you can," he stated confidently, "Its easy!"

Of course it was easy for Yami, almost everything he had ever attempted had been, but Yugi always had to try extra harder. He glanced nervously at his short, weak appearing legs, terrified on having to rely on them to keep him upright without falling. "No…it's not!" he growled.

"Why?" Yami asked innocently.

"Because I'm…" Yugi couldn't say it. He couldn't tell Yami that he was afraid, if he did, he would be considered weak and he couldn't be entirely sure of what his father would do with him. He always wondered what his father would have done with him if he had known…would he have really killed him? Perhaps, but how could such a young boy, even one with such an older maturity level, really know and understand the ways of the dark world to which he had been born, especially if he had spent such a short time in it?

However, his final words were not needed, because Yami, even though he didn't have the ability to read minds back then, still knew what Yugi was thinking and why he was afraid. Yugi felt Yami release the grip he had had on his shoulders, only to feel them grab his wrists. He snapped his gaze worryingly back into Yami's confident eyes, his mouth open to protest.

"You can do it Yugi. I'm going to prove that to you right now!" Yami smiled, while he began to tug his brother upward.

Yugi gasped as his body lifted from the floor, frightened that Yami would suddenly lose his grip and allow him to fall backward. "No! Stop! You're-" he coughed and sputtered, his eyes darting from side to side in fear, unaware of the iron grip that he was been held in.

"Yugi?" Yami asked him calmly, catching the smaller boy's attention.

He gulped and risked a tiny glance at Yami's smooth and relaxed face, smiling encouragingly at him while holding a patient look in his eyes.

"As long as I hold onto you, you're not going to fall…I've got you. Now-" Yami took a slow, but steady step backwards, keeping his hold on Yugi strong and unbreakable, "Take a step with me…we'll walk together…and we'll walk together until you can walk on your own."

Yugi gasped in fear, not liking this idea at all. "B-but, what if I can't? What if I…what if I can't ever…" he realized that he was dangerously close to sobbing, but his older twin's comforting and supportive hold on him tightened, soothing the overwhelming feelings that were building up inside him.

Yami smiled at him, practically melting away his younger twin's fears with his warm scarlet gaze, standing tall and mighty even though he was barely a few inches from the ground himself, basking in his own inner light and strength that no vampire nor human had ever had in their entire lifetime, fulfilling his role perfectly as Yugi's big brother… "It won't matter, because I'll always be there for you to walk with."

Yugi's eyes fluttered open slowly as his old dreamlike memory came to an end.

Memories about their childhood were hardly ever happy ones, and those that were, were often extremely hard to relive. Even though the twins were forced to grow up at an incredibly quick rate, a part of them was still undeveloped and naïve, meaning that they were part child in some ways…and adults in others. Yami however, took on a role that Yugi never really appreciated until they were much older, and even then he never truly acknowledged it. While their father ruled his vampire kingdom, he totally ignored and left them to practically raise themselves, and remained distant through their growth, only truly taking an interest in them once they had reached puberty and their unique powers had begun to surface.

Yami however, took on his father's role, and technically raised Yugi single-handedly in ways that their father as well as their assigned 'Raisers,' could not. He taught Yugi how to walk, and did indeed keep his promise to stay by his side until he could do it by himself, which required a lot more patience than Yugi could never and would never have. He helped him with the learning areas that he struggled with, taught him how to play games, and encouraged certain values that most fathers would give their children, such as guys don't hit girls, never take anything that doesn't belong to you…and some other things that made up an incredibly long list.

Yami was his protector and guider when things got bad. He was always the one that Yugi could talk to about anything and everything without fear of being judged or killed. He was the one that Yugi looked up to…literally and figuratively…Which is why it had made the choice all that much harder to make.

Now…three years later, he found himself lying on his back, on a Ra-should-forsake-and-send-to-hell lumpy couch in Yami's tiny living room, staring hard at the stained ceiling, as his mind glossed over the many disabled pieces of thoughts that floated around his fogged up mind, while it pounded and ached as a consequence of his boozed-up state from the night before.

'Ra damn alcohol! I'll never fucking drink again!'He moaned and whined with his voice stuck in his swollen throat. He knew, however, that his vow was meaningless. Especially considering the fact that he had vowed the same thing repeatedly for the last four years.

He couldn't remember much of what had happened from the night before, which was strange to him. He knew that he had only had four to five drinks…maybe six, but not nearly enough to make him totally zonked…after all, his first experience was still practically clear in his mind, even after having gulped down the entire bottle and that was pretty hardcore!

'So what the fuck?'

Not to mention he was a vampire now…things were different. It should not have been that easy to get totally wasted, but by the look of his partly blank memory that took place within a short few hours, it seemed it was. He scratched the side of his face in habit while he pondered over the matter, noticing for the first time that there were peculiar marks on his wrists and forearms that looked like…carpet burn?

Examining the back of his hands further, he discovered grey fluff lodged beneath his fingernails…and wondered for a short moment about it, soon discovering that he was unable to recall even the faintest bit of memory for an explanation. However, from what he was able to sum up, he knew that he had been at a club…and that he had been drinking…Yami had a standoff that he had found really amusing…and merciless brown eyes…

Those eyes…who did they belong to? He couldn't remember, without his head throbbing. There was definitely something familiar about them as well as unforgettable…but well…he seemed to have forgotten anyway. Gently pulling himself up, he began to feel odd aches and pains in weird places on his body, the kind that's stiff, but bearable.

There were partly healed cuts on his body, which he had no way of knowing on how they had gotten there, and the same hand that he had been using to scratch with, gently darted over the swollen burning skin around his eye…and ugly bruise no doubt.

Although he knew next to nothing about what had taken place the night before, he did know one thing…he hadn't fed properly enough. His condition was a testimony to that, as his body should have healed immediately after his injuries were inflicted, or that at least while he slept, yet there was still much that needed repair. Jerkily, he managed to climb off the couch and headed over to Yami's fridge where he kept his stash, opting for the 'A' blood groups today.

His eyes scanned the shelves as a small smile spread to his lips. "Neat as always."

The dark bloody bags were stacked neatly in an orderly fashion, with other foodstuffs carefully stored around them. Yugi took note of the apple and cranberry juice bottles, his brother's personal favourites, as well as a large carton of grapes and strawberries. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but would definitely startle a babysitter…he had to grin at that thought.

Yami seemed to be on a short supply on the 'A' type, so he grabbed a B-positive pack and shut the freezer door, noticing for the first time that there was a cat magnet on its door. He humph-ed, before digging out a straw from one of the drawers and plucked it through the plastic's surface, while staring at the magnet with a cocked eyebrow. Yami took that Ra-damn-awful thing everywhere he went…and he couldn't understand why, it wasn't even cute!

He sucked in a small sip of the dark liquid and clicked his tongue at the delicious, coppery taste. Not too bad…but not all that appetizing either. He rolled his eyes up at the clock that stood posted at the top of the doorway, and almost choked when he read the time. It had been barely an hour since dawn!

No wonder he felt crap! He obviously hadn't slept long at all! Growling irritably he reached back into the freezer and plucked out another bag. "Fuck it! I'm never drinking again!"

---

Yami breezed through his front door with a cheerful smile plastered on his lips. His mood practically glowed in a golden light around his body, as his thoughts kept circulating around the events that had taken place in the last few hours, and all he could think about was Tea.

He had experienced something with her that he had never felt before, and reliving the sensations of their fiery passion proved to be rather dangerous. With a stupid grin on his face, he walked into the living room, too caught up in his own thoughts to realize that Yugi was no longer where he left him.

"What the hell is this? No good morning Yugi? No hello? Nothing? And you ask me where I was raised!" Yugi muttered bitterly from across the room, stopping Yami dead in his tracks.

He turned his gaze to his shorter twin, noticing that he was in the same armchair he had sat in when he had sadistically raped, tortured and murdered three young, beautiful girls. If he looked closely enough, he could still see the faint outline of some of the blood splatters on its green corduroy fabric that hours of intensive scrubbing had not been able to erase completely. He felt sorry for those girls whose cases would eventually go into the Cold Case Files or whose deaths would labeled undetermined or accidental, once their bodies were found in the shallow graves near the river that flowed through Domino Park… that is assuming if they were ever found.

"Well, well, well…Sleeping Fugly seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the couch this morning…you really look like shit," Yami commented dryly, noticing a hint of dark bags beneath his brother's eyes against his abnormal pale complexion that seemed to sag a little. He also noticed the huge purplish bruise that covered most of the skin around his right eye, and fought back a grin.

"No shit huh?" Yugi scoffed sarcastically with a smirk, before lifting himself up from the chair. "How come every time you get laid, I wake up with a hangover and black eye?"

Yami gave him a startled look, "How the hell did you-"

"Just saw that huge Ra-damn hickey on your neck there," Yugi said as he pointed to the right side of Yami's neck.

He gasped and spun around to face the hallway mirror, cursing under his breath in Egyptian, while yanking back his jacket's collar to get a better look at his skin, his mind wildly going over how many people he had come into contact with that morning that might have seen… …

There was nothing there…

Yugi began to give in to fits of snorted chuckles, to which Yami raised his eyes murderously into his younger brother's eyes. "You were just fucking with me weren't you?" he growled in annoyance, snapping his collar back with a stiff and harsh gesture, not at all amused by his prankster brother.

"Yip! And you totally gave me the reaction I was hoping for, just like Seto did when I played the underwear prank on him," Yugi chuckled, before the memory of their cousin's humiliation replayed over in his mind and he submitted to a series of bellyaching laughter that sounded so much like his old human laugh that Yami temporarily forgot that he actually had wanted to strangle him.

He remembered the prank well, as it had been rather creative and effective in a sense that Seto had been totally caught off guard. After having been Yugi's victim so many times, Seto had come to learn how to deflect them and avoid them, or sniff them out before he actually became a victim…but he had no way of preventing this one, which is why Yugi and Yami referred to it as 'Prank of Seto's Demise.' It sounded better in Egyptian though.

Basically, Yugi got hold of a pair of a woman's leopard-printed underwear from a porn shop that was branded from the 'Hustler' merchandise, but at a size that seemed large enough to fit their extremely uptight cousin. The next step of his evil plan, was to write Seto's name inside it, before leaving it out in the corridor near his room, for all to see and observe…much to Seto's great embarrassment, who only realized what was going on, when confronted about it, several hours later, by Aknadin!

Yami chuckled along with Yugi, remembering how the dingy garment had become the hottest topic amongst the vampires within the tomb, much to Seto's annoyance. However, he flinched when the memory of how pissed off their cousin had become, soon after putting two and two together and coming up with – Yugi – and was engulfed with a deadly combination of irritation and Egyptian-rage that he snapped Yugi's collarbone into two clean pieces. In all honesty and fairness, Yugi did deserve it…but still.

He looked away from Yugi for a minute as he walked into his kitchen, briefly remembering his reason for coming back, no longer laughing, but instead smiling sadly. Yugi was a different person now than he had been back then, but Yami was still glad in a way that his prankster side of him hadn't died along with his other loveable qualities that had once made him so human. Perhaps there was still a little bit of his brother still alive.

"Soooooo? How was it?" Yugi asked suddenly as he walked over the small round table near the window, which had cardboard, neatly taped, over the glass to keep the sunlight out.

"How was what?" Yami asked as he snapped out of his trance.

"The sex, dumb ass!" Yugi growled while rolling his eyes, as though his question had been the most obvious thing in the world. Sometimes he really wondered if his brother could be so bland.

"Oh hell no! I'm not discussing my sex life with the likes of you," Yami stated, a little unnerved by his brother's bluntness.

"…That good huh?" Yugi smirked mischievously, taking another sip from his blood filled bag, through a straw.

"Oh just shut up!" Yami growled irritably, feeling a slight blush burn on his cheeks and suddenly became very interested in finding a can-opener in one of the cabinets.

Yugi laughed at his evident discomfort, "Oh come on Yami, it's not like you were a virgin and just popped your cherry damn it! You don't need to get all embarrassed about having an awesome fucking time!"

"I'm not embarrassed…it's just that you're the last person I could ever have this conversation with," Yami muttered sourly, though to Yugi it sounded more uncomfortable. Truth was that Yami did want to talk about it, in fact he was dying to let it all out of him, but he honestly didn't think that Yugi knew anything about passionate love making or the connection it made between two people that were so madly in love with one another…in all truth, Yami didn't think Yugi knew anything other than the pleasure sex gave, which was why it was pointless talking to him.

"Last person! Who the fuck are you talking to? Compared to you, I'm a frikin expert!" Yugi growled out, sounding deeply offended by Yami's words.

That was no lie. Yugi had been with a lot more girls than he had. Before Tea, Yami had only slept with two other girls, the first being Dendera of course, and the second was a slave girl that he had shamefully used on the rebound thanks to Yugi's influence. However…an odd and random thought came to mind, which he voiced without thinking. "When exactly was your first time?"

The question caught Yugi totally off guard as well as Yami, who silently cursed himself for being so careless. Even though Yugi was a total privacy invader and had no respect for anyone's personal life whatsoever, Yami had always maintained a kind of, 'if he wants to tell me, he'll tell me,' code that stopped him from prying into unwelcome territory. Yet for some reason, Yugi's eyes held a certain glint of what seemed like curiosity in itself, mixed with delight and mischief.

"You mean…you don't know?" he asked in a semi-shocked tone, his scarlet eyes blazing.

Yami shook his head, trying to think back several years ago for a time where Yugi may have started to change or show signs of faltering innocence. Although he had only truly known that Yugi was no longer a virgin after seeing him with Dendera, he had for some reason always felt that it had been way, way before that terrible incident. It was strange actually, but although they told each other everything, it seemed that as they had grown up, secrets were definitely been kept from the other, especially from Yugi's side…

"Shit…well that that sure as hell explains a lot, I always thought you knew," Yugi said, giving a small, but strange chuckle, which Yami could not identify. He scratched the side of his face as he usually did when he thought back in time, while his eyes glazed over in what was probably the closest look to evident concentration as Yugi would ever get close to.

"You…thought I knew?" Yami asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well yeah…I mean it was pretty obvious, I didn't think you could miss it, and besides I totally reeked of sex and sweat that day too," Yugi grinned, being crude as always.

Yami grimaced at the idea, glad that it hadn't been that obvious back then, "I don't ever recall…that."

"Yeah well…it was a long time ago I guess," Yugi stated softly with an odd, unidentifiable look in his large red eyes.

"Uh…how long?" Yami inquired curiously.

"Umm…about five years ago," Yugi answered casually while nodding his head slowly, his eyes holding an almost waiting look within them, almost as though he was waiting for Yami to figure it out by himself.

Yami however couldn't get over the first fact that Yugi had produced. 14! That was how old Yugi was!

"Okay…who?" he asked out of pure curiosity.

He grinned sheepishly without meeting his older twin's eyes and bit down on his lip to stifle his nervous laughter. "Uh…well that's an interesting story actually…I have no idea."

Yami cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean you have no idea?"

"Well you see…I was with Mahado and Shadi…"

Ah! That explained everything! Mahado and Shadi, his father's high and loyal priests…and also the renowned horndogs of the universe. The worst possible influences that his father could have ever found for his youngest son. Yami now knew exactly what day Yugi was referring to, and remembered it quite well, as it was their fifth-forced-hunting experience with the older vampires. The brothers were separated from each other as their hunting party split into two groups. Yami was pulled into Seto's group, which also consisted of Isis and Aknadin, whereas Yugi was pulled into Mahado and Shadi's group. Yami still remembered worrying constantly about Yugi's wellbeing that entire night, never having actually being separated from him before.

"Go on," he encouraged, trying to keep himself in check.

"Well you see…They took me to this place on the outskirts, can't really remember where or what it was, but I'm pretty sure it was a human-brothel, to uh…grocery shop… I remember there were a lot of rooms along this firkin long tunnel way, and it was so dark in there that I could barely see a thing, and I'm pretty sure that the humans in there couldn't see shit either. But anyways, Mahado…well he…" Yugi paused in his explanation, seeming to think carefully rethink his words before giving an uncomfortable glance to the side of the room and continuing with his story in a curiously suspicious way. "…got me interested in girls. Long story short I ended up in a room with a girl I couldn't see and accidentally fucked her, then came back home, saw you and then went to bed. That's it."

Yami blinked, without giving a comment, unable to voice his thoughts, which he imagined was Ra's way of censoring them. In the back of his mind he wondered why Yugi had rushed through his story in the end, which was genuinely considered an act to cover something up…which made Yami wonder what his little brother had to hide.

"Accidentally?" he asked at last.

Yugi closed his eyes and grimaced, as though it was the last thing he wanted to answer. "I…couldn't make out what she looked like exactly, especially her face…but I could make out some bits of her body…and well she was…" he breathed out a quiet whistle, "You have no idea how I tried to resist okay…but you know what it was like back then!"

As much as Yami hated to admit it…he did. They were just like any of the other young and healthy teenage boys, with raging hormones plaguing their existence, but the only difference was they were also had vampiric hormones raging through them at the same time.

"So what? You just raped her?" Yami asked in a strained, emotionless voice, which completely lacked surprise.

"What? No! Well…not exactly…like I said, it was an accident," Yugi protested softly, though he didn't even seem to be able to convince himself of his own testimony.

Yami rolled his eyes with irritation, yanking out the can-opener that he had finally found from a drawer, before slamming it shut, causing Yugi, who had yet to defeat his hangover-headache, to flinch. An accident? Is that how Yugi justified his actions to make them seem okay? If he wasn't so angry, he may have laughed at the bullshit that he was hearing. "Oh, of course, an accident! Well in that case, I guess it can't be called rape! Do enlighten me Yugi, on how this accident occurred then," he growled bitterly.

"I didn't know that I was compelling her…" Yugi whispered in a low voice that held such raw emotion that Yami had to look over his shoulder to double check that the words had come from him at all, and was shocked to see the haunted and distant emotion in his brother's eyes that refused to look into his and instead glared at the table. It was the first time since his transformation that Yami had ever seen him look so close to vulnerability that it scared him.

"What do you mean Yugi?" he asked in a softer tone, trying to keep in mind that Yugi was a brilliant actor and could have been playing another trick on him.

For a long while, Yugi didn't answer, but after taking a deep breath he replaced his softened exterior with one of his old, cocky and tough-guy ones. "Like I said, it was an accident. I didn't know that I had the ability to influence her actions. It happened too fast for me to realize what was going on…If I had known back then, I would never have done it, and as far as I'm concerned, it never happened…because none of it was real," he muttered bitterly, quickly looking away from Yami in an attempt to hide yet another strange emotion that was slowly taking place in his eyes.

Yami stared at Yugi for a long time before turning around and tending to his daily morning chore, by pulling out three unopened cans from the top cabinet above the sink. He now understood what had really happened that night, which automatically took his mind back a few years, when he discovered that he could read minds. It had been one of the scariest experiences he had ever gone through and often he almost felt as though he were on the brink of insanity. For several months, all he heard were voices inside his head, even when there was no one with him, which resulted in many sleepless nights and concentration difficulties.

Their powers had been rather scary discoveries when they first emerged from out of nowhere, and neither boy was prepared for it, as for some reason, this area of their transformation had never been mentioned to them. Yugi however, suffered a different kind of torment. Unlike Yami, he struggled to keep his thoughts to himself and nearly every single person, vampire and human, managed to get a glimpse at what he was thinking, often leaving him in very humiliating situations, as his power refused to say out of inquiring minds. However, because of this, he became emotionally stronger over the years, and although his power irritated him, it didn't destroy his ego…too much.

But… this power inflicted a different kind of emotional wound. What would it have been like to discover a new ability in such a way that revealed one of the most important memories you'll ever have for the rest of your life, was in the end…unreal? Sure, Yugi had always acted insensitive and openly exploited his perverted nature…but now that Yami thought about it, he only really started acting like that after that very night, which of course had not been too obvious at first. Was the reason behind that, because of his experience?

Perhaps Yugi should be grateful that his first time hadn't been as bad as his…or perhaps that was an unfair comment, either way, Yami could see that even as a supposing 'heartless-cold-killer' it still managed to affect him…which was very, very human. Perhaps…Yugi really was still in there somewhere.

'Oh what the hell!'

"It was awesome," Yami muttered lowly, breaking the silence as he slowly opened the first can.

Yugi lifted his eyes and gave Yami a confused look, which Yami could sense on the back of his head. "What was?"

Yami rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Last night!...Well actually early morning, but you get the idea."

Yugi's eyes widened in understanding and took on a mischievous glow that quickly replaced the tormented look that had once been present in them. "Once?"

Yami bit back a grin even though he knew Yugi couldn't see his face. "Uh…three times, actually."

Yugi gawked at Yami in amazement, his lips slowly forming into a grin. "Thrice? My, my…I didn't know that you had it in you…truth be told, after that last girl I thought you were gay."

Yami chose to ignore the last comment. "Yeah well…it felt good."

Yugi smirked and swallowed back a chuckle. "You're not used to talking about things like this are you?

Yami growled lowly under his breath as a tinge of red lined his cheeks. Choosing to ignore him yet again, he began scooping the contents from his three opened cans into six little dishes, while Yugi watched on in quiet fascination.

Temporarily forgetting his previous question, he found himself unable to contain his curiosity any longer and finally asked, "What are you doing?"

Yami turned with a questioning look before following Yugi's gaze that was rested on the dishes. "Oh, you mean this?" he asked while forking in another glob of brown sludge. "I came back here to feed my cats."

Yugi glanced around the apartment, finding it to be rather vacant without a single cat in sight. "Uh…I don't see a cat."

"You will," was all he said, as he continued to scoop in the last of the meaty substance.

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing; he had something much more important on his mind. "So…back to Tea…was she good?"

Yami stiffened at the question, clearly uncomfortable about discussing Tea in such a way. "Yugi…I'm not going to discuss her in such a way with you."

"Just answer me that – pretty please!" he whined, before giggling, shifting his movement slightly in his chair, before catching an odd movement in the corner of his eye. He turned his gaze to the side and noticed a furry black ball of mangled fluff emerge from the hallway, waddling along with stiff legs.

"Okay…yeah she was good…no…she was amazing!" Yami answered hazily with a concentrative frown, unable to fully express himself in words. He seemed to have given up after a few moments and began serving the many dishes that he had filled up with some type of meaty scented sludge that smelt rather good for cat food…

"Hmm…did you bite her?" Yugi asked curiously, which earned a low gasp from Yami.

"What? Ra no!" Yami gaped in horror, giving Yugi a comical look of shock and terror combined.

"Yeah okay…that may have freaked her out for your first time together, but in future you should really give it a try," Yugi advised wisely as he folded his arms behind his head, leaning back against the chair. He spotted more movement down the hall and widened his eyes in surprise as he took note of three more fluffy critters making their way towards them.

"Are you insane? No way!" Yami growled.

Yugi put his hands up as though to surrender, "Hey! Look, it's not like that okay; just hear me out for a sec. Last night, you had the urge to bite her right?"

Yami bit his lip, a little ashamed by that fact.

"Hey, it's perfectly natural and totally normal – and totally okay-"

"How? How is that okay!" Yami growled angrily, cutting Yugi off in mid sentence.

Yugi sighed deeply as though trying to regain some of his patience. "It's okay, because it's perfectly safe! It's a sexual urge not a feeding urge, meaning that you're not going to get hooked into a sudden frenzy and struggle to let go; it's actually just your body's way of demanding…uh…intensity. It just basically builds up into an explosive orgasm that won't stop until you release your fangs…and I'm sure you can imagine the rest by yourself."

As much as it sickened him to even imagine himself biting into Tea's neck…he had to admit, from what Yugi had described, the idea was appealing, but… "No! Not going to happen, thanks for the idea, but I will not put Tea at such a risk, even if you do consider it harmless."

"Suit yourself; just know your options for when you start to get bored," Yugi winked.

Yami smirked, knowing that he would never get bored of his beautiful goddess…

Several cats ran into the room for their late breakfast, meowing their unhappy complaints as they tucked into their meal, hardly acknowledging Yami or Yugi's presence at all. Yugi's eyes widened in shock, never having seen so many cats all together in one place before. "Dear Ra! How many of these fucking things do you have?"

Yami shrugged, "I don't own any of them, just feed them and live with them…there are about ten or twelve that are frequent boarders…but I'm not sure…I think there are about twenty though."

'Twenty cats!' Yugi thought in secret, staring wide eyed at the fur balls that were stuffing their faces. Yami must have been out of his fucking mind. He had always been more of a dog person, but then that was only if he had to pick an animal; he wasn't actually particularly fond animals at all…especially cats! He never understood what Yami found to be so attractive about them. Their fur stuck to you like glue and somehow always managed to suffocate you by getting into your nose, not to mention that they clawed and bit you for often, no apparent reason at all, and arrogantly thought they owned the world and doing you a favor by letting you live in it! No, he didn't like cats.

"Well anyway, I got to go," Yami announced, walking out the kitchen.

"Wait! What? Where?" Yugi asked, following after him.

"I told Tea I was going to drop her off at work, and then I've got a few things that I need to organize and a few errands to run," Yami informed him, digging into one of the drawers on his desk.

"Drop her off?" Yugi asked in confusion, before his eyes caught sight of the set of car keys that Yami yanked up, and gave him a knowing smirk. "Ohhh… well she's sure going to be surprised."

Yami grinned at him before walking over to his room and ruffled around in it, obviously changing his clothes.

"What time will you get back?" Yugi called out after him, fiddling with an interesting paperclip structure that Yami had obviously built out of boredom, one night or day, and added to it every now and again.

"Late!" Yami called back.

"How late?" Yugi asked before flicking at one paperclip, which tragically de-structured the entire thing, sending several paperclips splattering across the desk's surface. His eyes widened in regret and he bit his lip, quickly gathering all the pieces together again and attempted to try and recreate something that would at least resemble the old master piece. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"What?" Yami asked, emerging from the room while still slipping into his leather jacket.

"Uh!" Yugi spun around, hiding his destruction behind him, "Nothing! I was just…Wait a sec! How come you're doing errands during the day?"

Yami finally managed to shrug into his jacket and gave Yugi an amused look; "I need to start getting out of my nocturnal routine now that I'm with Tea, so I guess practice makes perfect."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Walk amongst the humans!"

Yami rolled his eyes in response. "Yugi, we used to do it all the time."

"Yeah but…it wasn't going to be permanent!"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because…" Yugi's voice trailed off as he thought about the words he was about to let slip. Now was not the time to have this conversation. He faked a defeated look and stared at Yami with pouting, puppy-like eyes, "You're not going to leave me here by myself all day are you?"

Yami raised an eyebrow with an amused smirk, "Yip! Why are you afraid of been left alone in this small apartment?"

"Would you stay if I said I was?" Yugi asked innocently with a wide smile.

"Nope, but don't let that stop you," Yami laughed, making his way toward the door.

"Ra you are such a clown! Ha-ha-ha! Seriously though, what the hell am I supposed to do while you gallivant around town?"

Yami shrugged, "I don't know…put my paperclip tower back together?"

Yugi grinned sheepishly, "Is that what that thing was?" Obviously, Yami was more observant than Yugi had previously realized. "But seriously! I'm bored already…and there's nothing entertaining in this shit hol-uh-place."

Yami rolled his eyes; Yugi could be such a baby sometimes… "Hmm…" That gave him an idea. He walked back over to his desk, glancing at the large pile of paperclips that had once been stacked on top of each other to create a tower, and shook his head while sifting through some of the drawer's contents. He could feel Yugi's curious gaze on him until he found the objects that he was looking for. "Here!"

Yugi eyed the things that Yami had placed on the desk… "What the hell is-"

"That is a Barbie and Ken coloring-in-book, and that is a box of wax crayons…the rainbow edition…and that over there is a sketch pad for you to draw on. Have fun," Yami grinned as he made his way over to the door and pulled it open, while Yugi shot him several dirty looks.

"Don't you have porn?" He called after him, to which the only reply he received was the soft bang of the door been shut. He guessed that he would have to take that as a no.

He glanced at the objects that lay neatly sprawled out on the desk's surface, feeling slightly uncomfortable by Barbie's large blue eyes that seemed to lifelessly stare into his. He decided that he would worry about why Yami had such a thing in his possession later, since a vengeful tactic began to formulate in his mind.

He would show Yami, the effect of loneliness, since his older twin brother thought it was so funny earlier. Who knew…maybe Yami would find this funny too.

---

Tea had just changed into the third outfit she had tried on that morning, hoping that third time was in deed the charm. Luckily for her it was, and she quickly went on to fixing her hair that was still damp from the shower. She hoped that her turquoise buttoned up shirt brought out the colour in her eyes like the many compliments she had received over the past had promised. Yami hadn't got back yet, and although she knew it was pathetic of her, she was still worried.

Backing a few paces away from the mirror, she gave her reflection a critical observation, making sure that everything was as perfect as she could get it, and then went on to gathering her purse and keys, when she heard a knock on the door.

'That has to be him!' She thought, darting excitedly to the door before swinging it open; only to be greeted with an unfamiliar smiling face that caught her by surprise. "Ha-uh…"

"Good morning ma'am, package delivery!" The friendly face of the stranger beamed, his hazel eyes glowing lively. He was holding a gigantic white cardboard box that looked rather heavy, with no stickers or any indication of what was inside or where it had come from.

"Oh…uh, sure. I mean thanks…just bring it in and put it over there," she said shakily, pointing in the direction of the living room in the corner where it would be out of the way for the time being. She watched him move over to the side of the room and gently lay the package down. "Thanks…rather early to be out delivering things," she stated in an attempt to lighten the mood, while she signed for it, holding the clipboard rather awkwardly.

"Tell me about it, but that's what you get when your boss is from the Earth's core," he joked as he took the clipboard back and stepped out through the doorway. "Enjoy your day miss."

"Likewise!" she called after him, smiling softly to herself at his friendliness, before shutting the door and turning to the unusual, mysterious package that stood up against the wall on the other side of the room. Wondering what it was she made her way over to it, sliding her hand along the top that was taped shut, feeling the smooth surface beneath her fingertips. A strange knot formed in her stomach as though something was telling her to be wary of what was inside. She was about to pull back some of the tape, when a strange but pleasant sounding car-hooter honked a tune from outside.

She walked up to the window curiously, peering down at the street below and gasped when she laid sight on the vehicle that was parked there. It was a very sleek and shiny model, with a velvet night-black finish that glittered in the sun, and looked like it was a convertible too. However, in spite of the shock at seeing such a fancy sports-car parked in her neighborhood, she was more shocked to see its owner, who leant up against it coolly with his arms folded over his chest, one leg crossed over the other, and dark ruby eyes staring up directly into hers with a small smirk across his lips…

"I'll be right down," she said in a normal voice, wondering if he would be able to hear her from all the way down there and was shocked to see him wink in response. She smiled back at him and quickly darted to get her things, dating a vampire was sure going to make life a lot interesting…but dating Yami…was sure as hell going to make it worthwhile.

She was right about the fact that it was a convertible, but once she got closer to it, she noticed that it wasn't entirely black, but instead a really dark shade of blue. He smiled as he held the passenger's side door open for her like a true gentleman, allowing her to give him a quick 'hello' kiss, before closing it after her and making his way over to the driver's side. The inside smelt clean and fresh with a delicious combination of leather and vanilla, and the seats were unbelievably comfortable in spite of the car's typically modern appearance.

"This is an awesome car!" Tea exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm glad you like it!" Yami responded, secretly relieved as he rounded the corner that led out of her neighborhood.

An odd little thought suddenly struck her then and she gave him a curious look, before forcibly shoving it away, afraid that it would have a backfiring effect on her, which she couldn't afford at this point in time. However, Yami noticed it and couldn't resist asking. "Hey? You okay?"

"Oh! Yes, of course," she answered a little too quickly, which blew her cover. He gave her that knowing look of his that seemed to read into her soul and she knew that he knew something was up. She sighed sheepishly and looked away to hide her guilty blush. "I was just…thinking."

"Mmm-hmm?" He mumbled, with his eyes on the road, but his attention focused on her.

She knew that he would never force the answer out of her, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to withhold anything he wanted from her. Sighing in defeat and against her better judgment, she forced herself to voice her thoughts. "I…uh…just realized that you know a lot about me…but I don't know that much about you…I mean I know your secret, but…but I don't know…" The words weren't coming fast enough, and suddenly she was left with blanks. 'Oh crap,' had she messed up?

He smiled at her reassuringly, which immediately relaxed and eased her tension. "Hmm…well I better fix that then. How about tonight you and I go out for a pleasant evening, where you can get to know as much as you like about me?"

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

He nodded his head and winked, "Of course, but on one condition."

"And what would that would be?"

He smirked at her, "It'll be a surprise."

The young lovers walked in through the jewelry store's door and were immediately greeted by the sweet chime of the doorbell, which hung from above its frame. Mr. Hardwick seemed stunned to see the pair at first, but his expression immediately warmed at the sight of his darling Tea.

"Bollocks! It's my trusty right hand girl! Where on earth have you been love? The store's just not the same without you," he grinned brightly in his usual warm welcoming self.

Tea giggled in relief, glad that her friendly employer was not angry about her one day of absence. "Sorry Mr. Hardwick, I was…uh…"

"No need to be sorry love, the kinds of illnesses going on around these days are rather frightening and odd to say the least, so really love, if you don't feel up to work today, take the day off and go get some rest!" Mr. Hardwick offered kindly, his wrinkled face practically glowing with warmth.

Tea smiled back, "It's okay Mr. Hardwick sir, I'm all healthy again, but I would like you to meet someone, this is Yami," Tea introduced with a gesture, smiling encouragingly at her confident boyfriend, who wore an equally friendly smile that matched his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you," Yami greeted politely, giving the old man a firm handshake.

"Very nice to meet you too young man! An honor actually, to meet one of my adorable right hand girl's friends," Mr. Hardwick responded kindly.

Tea smiled sheepishly when Yami gave her a wink. She opened her mouth to speak, when the store's front doors burst open. A flash of perfectly straight blonde hair flashed in the corner of her gaze, and it didn't take more than a second for Tea to realize who it was…Serena!

"Good morning!" her sickly sweet (and totally put on) voice rang out, like church bells on the day of a wedding, catching everyone's attention…including Yami's.

Tea carefully stole a glance at Yami's reaction to the presence of the former, most popular and beautiful girl in Domino High, but his expression remained blank and unreadable. She didn't know whether that was good or bad, but it was hard not to feel completely inadequate next to the girl who had only the best of bodily features. She was already jealous.

"Good morning Miss Markesan, what can I do for you today?" Mr. Hardwick greeted quickly, maneuvering around Yami so that he could see her more clearly, but her focus was not on him. Instead her blue eyes were locked on Yami in a predatory gaze and a very flirtatious smile curled on her lips.

"Well, well, well…what have we here? A gorgeous hunk that I have yet to meet! You must be new in town," Serena purred hotly, her blue eyes glowing with excitement.

Tea clenched her hands into fists, her heart rate speeding up in anger and fear. Would Yami fall for her slutty charm? Would she eventually lose him to her worst enemy? Why the hell was Serena flirting with him anyway, wasn't she engaged to Shane? The answer came as quickly to her as the question had; Yami was far hotter than Shane could even have dreamed of being!

She felt his hand wrap around her tightened fist in a very loving and comforting gesture and looked up to see him flash her a warm smile and a reassuring wink.

"Quite new indeed," he responded in a polite tone with a small, casual smile, "Luckily I had the pleasure of meeting Tea in time, before I got lost."

"Tea! How rude of you then, not to introduce me to your hot friend? After all these years together you still haven't worked on those manners of yours! Forgive my dearest friend…she can be forgetful sometimes," Serena stated in a joking tone that was laced with frozen icicles. "I'm Serena Markesan, and yes, I am the daughter of Laurent Markesan."

Bitch! Tea couldn't believe that Serena was seriously playing her cruel game that she used to play on her when they were back at high school. Every time Tea was with a guy, Serena would use those very words to steal him away. Shane had been one of them. And of course…who would pass up a gorgeous, rich blonde, that had it all, for a brunette whore that was worthless and had nothing. Dearest friend? Oh please!

"Hmm…I'm afraid that I've never heard of him, but it is nice to meet you all the same, I'm Yami." He responded politely, tightening his grip on Tea's hand. She looked up at him questioningly, wondering why he was doing that, not that she was complaining of course.

Serena looked shock at hearing that her father was unknown to him, but seemed more taken aback when she noticed for the first time that he was holding her hand. "Oh…well, never mind that," she stumbled for words, quickly composing herself and became seductive again. "So Yami, I can't imagine someone like you being single, but I'll ask anyway, do you have a girlfriend?"

Tea cringed mentally, wondering what Yami was going to answer and whether or not it would make her day or break her heart. In spite of what they already had done together, they had never actually established if they were officially a couple or not.

"If she thinks I'm worth it and says yes…" Yami answered softly, his gaze falling into Tea's secretly asking her for permission to call her something that no one had actually ever called her before. Girlfriend? She had never been anything more than a one-night stand or weekend 'girlfriend,' but it was never something that had ever sounded as serious or made her sound like less than a free ride.

With startled eyes, she nodded her head once, feeling her heart flutter in response to the smile that widened on his lips.

"Looks like I do," he responded with a smirk that if Tea didn't know any better, would have sworn that it was aimed directly at Serena…almost as though he knew about the past relationship they had shared, but surely that was impossible?

Serena looked like she was ready to explode, but managed to keep her cool and composure, though her eyes were frozen over with icy coldness, which wasn't a total surprise to Tea, as Serena had never been rejected for her advances. Had Yami really just chosen her over Serena? She could scarcely believe it, but it was true.

"Congrats!" Serena said through tight lips, her voice cold despite its sweetness, "I just hope she keeps you around Yami, unlike all the other guys that have hung around her in the past that came and went in crowds." She laughed as though she thought it had all been a huge joke, when in reality her words stung venomously at Tea's old inner wounds.

She felt Yami stiffen beside her and glanced at his face that held absolutely no emotion at all, but his eyes had darkened. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm already well aware that I need to pull out all stops to impress her, which is precisely why I should be heading off now and arrange a few things for tonight." He turned his gaze away from Serena, completely blocking her off as he regarded his new girlfriend. "You get out at five-thirty right?"

"Uh…yeah."

"I'll come pick you up then," He smiled before leaning down and giving her a light peck on the forehead, careful with his conduct in the presence of her employer. "See you later."

"Bye!" She blushed brightly, giving him a shaky wave as he disappeared out the front door, after having said polite goodbyes to both Mr. Hardwick and Serena.

"What a nice young man!" Mr. Hardwick beamed, "Very well mannered, I like that. You don't find too many of them nowadays; I definitely think you've made the right choice love."

Tea blushed redder and gave him an embarrassed smile as she cheerfully made her way to her station behind the counter, ignoring Serena's dirty glares. Nothing could stop her from feeling excited about being a first time girlfriend and going on her first real date where she would learn more about him and hopefully pull back the dark curtain that surrounded his past. She couldn't wait!

"So Miss Markesan, what was it that I could do for you again?" Mr. Hardwick asked in jolly politeness.

"Oh…um, do you have any sapphire jewels?" she asked calmly, in a tone that sounded dangerously close to cracking.

"Uh…yes in fact we do. I've got a beautiful, blue sapphire butterfly necklace in the back, I'll bring it here for you to look at, please excuse me for a few minutes – meanwhile, Tea, would you please show Miss Markesan the 'Gracie' charm bracelet?" Mr. Hardwick requested kindly while he disappeared to the back room, leaving Tea alone literally with the hound from hell.

She pulled out the drawer from beneath the display, which dazzled brightly of the sparkling jewels, picking out one of the prettier ones, which came from the 'Gracie' collection. "Here is a sapphire charm bracelet, it's a one of a kind piece from the Gracie collection, so it's really good quality-"

"So you have a boyfriend now?" Serena stated rather than asked. She stood up straight with her arms folded and her eyes hard.

"Yes," Tea replied softly, glancing back at the bracelet. "So anyway, there are diamond rings that go with-"

"Does he know that you're a slut?" Serena said blatantly.

Tea's mouth dropped open. Did Serena really just say that? Yeah sure, Tea had a sketchy past and reputation, but that was just uncalled for! She was speechless, not trusting herself to say anything.

Serena smirked evilly, her eyes seeming wild and dangerous, which brought a different side of herself out in the open that Tea had never seen before. "It doesn't matter I guess, he looks serious, but my extremely large bank account is on that he's just using you for sex, a guy like that doesn't date girls like you without an ulterior motive."

Tea ground her teeth together angrily. Who the hell did Serena think she was? If she wasn't working she would have told Serena outright, where she could stick that large bank account of hers. Serena whipped her hair back over her shoulders, flashing Tea a cruel smile. "He really is hot though…"

A possessive look flashed in her icy blue eyes and Tea could literally see an idea of sorts forming in them, though it didn't take a genius to figure out what. Serena wanted Yami.

"Each charm is unique and sold separately; we have a wide range for you to choose from-"

"Way too hot for you. Any hotter and you'd melt. Don't you think?"

That did it! Sure, Tea knew she didn't deserve Yami, but no one else besides him had any right to an opinion or a say about it. Serena was way out of line, even for her standards, by sticking her snobbish little nose in their business when she had absolutely none in. And besides, what was she doing chasing after Yami when she had Shane?

"How's Shane?" Tea asked coolly, her azure eyes flashing in warning. She wasn't really a fighter, but she was capable of throwing a successful punch if the occasion called for it, thanks to a generous private lesson from one of her more nicer, previous 'boyfriends.'

Serena's eyes dimmed a little, revealing a tiny spark of vulnerability. "What about him?" she snapped.

So they broke up again.

"How is he? He hasn't bought your ring yet, is he sick? He isn't exactly someone that waits until the last minute to get something done," Tea replied sincerely, her expression mutual and calm.

"Yes! He's sick…he's got a cold…he'll get me my ring the moment he's healthy again, and I'll be renowned as the luckiest girl alive," she stated willfully, her eyes flashing brightly as she traveled through visions of her bright future that were obviously coated with fairytale-like magic.

A cold? Oh please, Shane was one of the most athletic and healthiest guys she had ever known. She had never seen him sick before in her life. If there was anything that Shane was sick of, it was the cause of a certain virus called Serena-syndrome. Her best bet went on that he was simply bored with the relationship and started to wonder on to other girls. He had never been the faithful, loyal type, what with all the attention he received from his many admirers; it was bound to happen at some point.

Tea knew more than what Serena did about those years in high school while the couple dated, since being an outcast allowed her to witness a world that the people crammed into the inner social bubble never saw, since they were too busy in their own space to notice what happened out of it. Shane screwed the whole cheerleader squad right under Selena's nose without her ever realizing it, and even had a love affair with her best friend Ashley on regular occasions. At one stage, she actually felt sorry for Selena, knowing that those very girls who claimed to be her friends and happily enjoyed the luxuries that she spoilt them with, but were ready to stab her in the back the minute it was turned.

"Oh my, that's awful, please send him my regards," Mr. Hardwick exclaimed as he walked towards them from the back door holding a silver box in his hands.

"Much appreciated, I shall," Serena said sweetly, putting her innocent mask back on skillfully. She looked at the necklace with admiration and interest, seeming to totally forget about the hurtful words she had just lain on Tea without the slightest remorse, almost as though it had never happened.

While she and Mr. Hardwick discussed business over the necklace, Tea remembered something Serena had once said to her, words that now held sinister meaning when she had everything to lose. 'I guess you could say that it's mine already…just like everything that I want.'

---

His footsteps were light and barely audible against the restlessness of the evening. Little clusters of different groups began to gather in certain areas, obviously grouping up after a long day of work (or slacking) to go out and party, which seemed to be the taboo in Domino City. He passed by partly unnoticed, wanting nothing more than to be ignored and left alone. He didn't feel like picking a fight or killing anyone, nor did he feel like watching anyone else get killed for that matter, which would have been strange for him, considering that he had spent most of his day sabotaging his brother's apartment, but now there was something more important that he had to do.

He turned the corner and began to walk down the more classier neighborhoods in town, one that he found very familiar. In all honesty it wasn't that much different from the streets that he had left behind. Sure, it was cleaner, well kempt, fancier with regards to housing and genuinely safer in terms of crime rate…but if one was able to look deeper into the lifestyle of the snobs that lived here, you'd still find cheap sexual affairs that took place right under the partner's nose, secret teenage drinking and drug distributions, eating disorders, and domestic abuse. The only difference was that it wasn't expected here.

Eyebrows were always raised when he happened to pass an upperclassman or two in the neighborhood, as he didn't exactly fit in their elite social circles, but that was precisely why he loved it. He always got a kick out of their bewildered expressions that looked as though they had eaten something sour. To them he looked like a common thug, what with all the leather and studded belts, but he would have rather been staked than ever walk around advertising Armani or some other fucked up designer label…he was a guy for Ra's sake!

Rebecca's apartment building came into view, and suddenly each step felt heavy and dragged. He felt as though he was literally walking through tar, as the decision he had made played over in his mind. She was a nice girl; not at all deserving of the ordeal he had put her through. He had thought about her throughout the daylight hours, realizing at every passing hour that her usefulness to him had finally expired, and it was time to cut her off from him completely.

If anything he would at least do her a favor by sparing her from the worst of her nightmarish life. After his visit, she would finally be free of it all…

He leapt up to the broken window, which had been covered with cardboard since he had last been there. He kicked it out the way and hopped through, landing perfectly onto the Persian-carpeted floor. Just as he expected, Rebecca sat obediently poised on the black leather couch, waiting for him loyally with a blank expression and dull eyes. He saw that she was dressed in a rather see-through, lacy black dress, something that usually would have driven him wild in the past, but not tonight.

"Rebecca…I free you from my control."

Life flooded to her eyes and her head slumped forward as his control over her broke, and all her senses collected together once again bringing her soul back into her own control. She glanced around her dazed and confused, until she looked up and saw him, audibly gasping in fear.

"It's time…I no longer have use for you." His facial expression remained indifferent and somewhat cold as he stared into her fearful eyes, watching her squirm below him as though she were trying to hide within herself from his gaze.

Tears flowed from her eyes as understanding sunk in. She closed her eyes in acceptance and nodded her head stiffly. She used her arms to haul herself off the couch, almost stumbling over as she leveled herself upright before Yugi, quivering in fear. Yugi remained still and silent as he watched the pitiful human before him with sad, crying eyes and broken spirit. So much had been taken from her in such a short period of time, now she believed she was about to lose everything.

"Don't cry human, the end will not be as bad as you have imagined," Yugi consoled lightly, remaining still and unmoving from his intimidating stance just a pace away from her shivering form.

She let out a softened sob and her eyes released a flood of tears. "You know this? Even though you get to live forever?"

'Nobody lives forever.'

"Rebecca…" Yugi whispered, gaining her startled attention at the use of her name, something that he had never done before. "You understand why I have to do this don't you?"

She bit her lip as her eyes closed, allowing fresh tears to flow without giving him an answer, however, just by reading her expression he already could tell that she did.

"Tell me what you're thinking," he requested with an almost kind tone.

Her glossy eyes opened slightly, revealing a troubled spirit that was looking into the face of death. "I was thinking of Alice…if this was how she felt before you…and whether…is there a chance?" She gave into a small choking sob as her breath became short in panic. Yugi slowly brought a hand up to caress the side of her cheek, causing her to immediately tense up and hold her breath.

Her terrified eyes darted to his, which were emotionless and hard. He shook his head once slowly; bringing all the hope she had had, down with a destructive crash. She bit her lip to prevent a sob from escaping, turning her gaze away from him in defeat. She breathed in deeply, seeming to gather up some form of courage and strength, before turning to look directly into his fiery eyes…eyes that she had shamefully fallen in love with.

"You were my first…did you know that?" She whispered, gulping in a breath before lowering her gaze. "I was saving myself…because my mother told me…that I would be bound to the guy I gave myself to for all eternity." She felt her body go numb as her emotions overtook her senses. "I guess…I just always…wanted to believe that you cared about me…even though you hurt me…but I guess…I guess that was just stupid of me to believe."

"Never trust a vampire," Yugi muttered softly, his hand still rested against the soft skin of her cheek. "Rebecca…you wanted to ask me something yesterday before I put you under my control…what was it?"

She bit her lip and slowly raised her teary eyes to his. "I…I wanted to know, why you became a vampire."

Yugi's eyes became shadowed, as his hand fell from her cheek to rest on her shoulder. He didn't know whether to answer her the truth, or to give her one that she would easily believe for the sake of answering it. Yet she deserved an answer as close to the truth as he could get, and since these words would be the last he would ever say to her, he didn't feel the need to lie. Gazing back into her watery blue eyes he whispered back the most honest reply he could give, "I did it for someone I cared about."

---

"Okay Yami…where are we going?" Tea asked excitedly as he drove them further into the more classier, business complex of Domino City. He had been very secretive about what he had planned for their date, and quite frankly it was killing her with curiosity.

"You'll see soon enough," he mused, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of them with a small grin on his lips.

"That's what you said five minutes ago!" Tea complained jokingly, finding it hard to sit still. He had told her to wear something that wasn't too formal, but not too casual either…so the semi-formal dress code was just about the only clue he had given her.

"Don't worry Love, we're almost there," he grinned, holding back a laugh.

"Where exactly is there?" She grinned.

"Nice try, but you'll have to wait," he winked at her, before turning the corner.

"For another five minutes?" She chuckled, partly distracted by all the bright lights and tall buildings. This was a side of the city that she hardly ever came to, mostly because the shopping here was ridiculously expensive. However, there was one place that she had always wanted to go to, the infamous Remos Fratelli, an Italian restaurant that apparently served the best food in the entire country.

He grinned back at her in response, but didn't comment; instead he brought the car to a halt in front of a rather elegant and charming building, with a huge glittering sign that brightened up the whole street. Tea gave him a questioning look, before leaning back against her seat, to try and get a better look at the sign. Unfortunately she could only see the bottom ends of the letters, and had no idea what they meant.

Yami quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out the car, immediately walking over to Tea's side before opening the door for her. He reached out to take her hand in order to help her out the car, making her feel like a true princess attending her first ball. "Why thank you kind sir!" She teased warmly as he practically lifted her entire body, effortlessly to an upright standing position.

"The pleasure is all mine gracious beauty," Yami smirked, bringing her hand up to his lips.

Tea blushed and turned her gaze back to the sign, gasping out loud when the bedazzled words, 'Remos Fratelli,' blazed brightly above the restaurant's wide gold-framed, glass doors.

"I hope you don't mind," Yami spoke softly, tightening his hold on her hand as began to guide her away from the parking space, "But I have a thing for Italian food, it's my favorite."

Tea beamed brightly at him, "I've always wanted to try their food out; it's apparently the best!"

Yami playfully breathed out a huge sigh of relief, "Thank God!"

He opened the glass door for her, gesturing grandly for her to go in first. Tea smiled at him before stepping through the doorway, a little embarrassed by all the attention she was receiving from him. She had never had car doors or doors in general, opened for her in the past; the experience was rather new and exciting.

The interior was grand and classy, with rich red shaded wallpapers, intricately designed with tiny patterns that made up what looked like suns and vines, and gold finishes that looked expensive. A well-dressed usher, greeted them with a friendly smile upon their entrance, seeming to recognize Yami the instant that he saw him and lead them to their seats, which was by the large window that overlooked the road below and had a fantastic view of the dance floor and mini orchestra that entertained the guests.

A young, redheaded waitress met them there and handed them two fairy large, leather-backed, menus, with a polite and friendly smile, introducing herself as Serenity, their honored waitress for the evening. Tea smiled nervously at her, nodding her head in acknowledgement, whereas Yami just smirked and politely thanked her, before she left to fetch them their fruit-cocktail drinks.

When they were alone he turned to her with a warm inviting smile, seeming perfectly comfortable and relaxed. "So, what do you think? Have I scored any points yet?"

Tea blushed cutely as she brushed away some stray bangs that covered the side of her face, "Its amazing…I can't believe you've done all this."

Yami chuckled lowly, "I'm only getting started Love."

Tea blushed, loving the sound of his voice when he called her by her new pet-name. "Should I be afraid?"

He grinned mischievously at her, "Maybe…now, I do believe that I have an obligation to fulfill. I promised you that I would answer whatever question you asked of me, shall we get started?"

Tea laughed sweetly as she paged through her menu, her cheeks flushing. "Perhaps I should start by asking you what the heck I should order!"

Yami laughed softly as he flipped through several pages without even looking at them, ending up on the third from last page. "Hmm…I'd advise the 'Pollo in Bianco,' which is incredibly delicious, but then again so is the 'Pollo all Cacciatora con Funghi.' Both are chicken dishes."

"Can I have what you have?" Tea said through a small, nervous laugh.

"Of course," Yami grinned, placing his menu to his side where it was out of the way, before regarding Tea with interest. "Although I do recall saying this to you earlier, I think I'll say it again…you look incredibly beautiful tonight."

Flattered, Tea blushed brightly, giving in to a sheepish smile, "Thank you." Her words were barely a whisper, but she knew that Yami's sensitive hearing picked them up as clearly as they would have if she had screamed them from across the room. Unable to figure out where they were heading that night, she had opted for her short red dress that was conservative enough, but hugged every flattering curve, creating a very sexy combination, which she had hoped Yami would love…and clearly he did.

"So…what do you want to know first?"

"Umm…" She tried desperately to think of some of the questions that she had come up with earlier, during her preparation for this very moment, but it seemed that been in Yami's presence had made her forget everything! She couldn't even think of one.

"At a loss?" Yami asked with a slightly amused tone.

Tea laughed in defeat and relaxed against the back of her chair. "Would you believe it? I thought of so many earlier, but now I can't think of one."

"Should we start with the basics? Favorite color, favorite animal; stuff like that?"

"Sound's good to me," she chuckled.

"Alright," Yami leant back further in his chair into a comfortable posture, his eyes turning thoughtful, "I have two favorite colors, which are black and red. My favorite animal would definitely be a cat, or part of the cat family, but if I have to be specific, it'll be a common housecat. Umm…favorite food…chocolate, which qualifies for dessert as well, and I don't ever really watch TV, so I don't have a favorite show or a favorite celebrity."

"Wow! You're a cat person?" Tea asked in surprise.

"Oh yes, indeed…but then again I am Egyptian," Yami grinned.

Tea's eyes widened as one of the little mysteries that surrounded her tanned boyfriend came to light, "So that's where the tan comes from."

He nodded his head in confirmation, "Yeah, but I'm only half…my mother was Japanese."

She lowered her eyes to the pretty table-piece that decorated the center of the table as several different thoughts and questions circulated in her mind, as well as the instinctive feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her wary of questioning him about his mother, perhaps as a result of the inner feelings of conflict she felt towards her own.

"What was your mom like?" she asked softly, meeting his gaze once again, noticing a strange emotion that she couldn't place within them.

He gave her a small, almost sad smile, "Unfortunately, I don't know…I never met her."

Damn it! She hoped she hadn't just ruined their entire evening by asking such a stupid question, though there were now a thousand more questions that she thought of to ask him about his mom. She quickly decided to change the subject. "Were you born in Egypt?"

He smiled and nodded, which made her smile in return.

"What's it like over there?"

He thought for a moment with dark eyes, before giving in to a small smile, "It's hot…really, really hot!"

"Well I wouldn't have expected anything less from the Sahara Desert," she laughed.

"Very true I suppose…but I guess if you looked passed the heat; you'd find that Egypt is in fact an incredibly beautiful place…especially its sunrises and sunsets over the sand dunes," Yami said with a small smile and an almost faraway look in his eyes as he went back to the memory of his birth place that he figured he would never see again.

"Did you like it there?" She asked gently after taking note of his softened gaze.

"I have mixed feelings about it…on the one hand its my home, the place I was born and raised, and my blood binds me to it the most, in this lifetime as well as the many other lifetimes before…but on the other hand I can only identify it with pain," Yami muttered in reply as he twirled his glass around in a gentle dance, his eyes seeming haunted as he relived his days in his vampire father's grasp.

"Would you ever go back?" Tea all but whispered with downcast eyes as she fiddled with her napkin.

Yami stilled his movements and released the drinking device, before looking up into her shy eyes. "No," he said softly with a shake of his head. "Egypt…is a part of a distant past that I left behind. There's nothing there that I'd ever want to return to."

Tea bit her lip, regretting her question. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Yami hastily lifted his gaze, "No, Tea, it's okay…remember the main aim of tonight was to get to know each other."

Tea turned her gaze to the white satin tablecloth that looked far too expensive to eat on, her cheeks flushed and her shoulders slightly slumped. Feelings of guilt welled up within her stomach, drowning the butterflies that had fluttered wildly around in it until a few seconds ago. She was convinced that she had just ruined their date. "I know that…but…I don't want to ask you anything that'll make you uncomfortable or sad, or worse…angry…this is after all our first date…and I don't want…didn't want…to ruin it."

He placed his hand over hers and caressed her soft skin with his thumb, "Tea?"

She hesitantly looked up into his eyes, immediately taking note of the scarlet jewels that burnt like mini-wild fires, warm and intensely gazing into hers. "Stop worrying so much, that's my job tonight after all and you're kind of stealing it," He brushed away a few straying strands of hair, gently brushing past her cheek causing her to blush at the contact. "Nothing you can say or do would ruin this date, so I don't want you to hesitate to ask me anything."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

He nodded, "Yes I am absolutely certain."

Tea bit her lip again nervously, meeting his gaze once again. "What was your life like back there? With the…uh…you know." She involuntarily gazed around the room that was packed with the elite population of Domino City, afraid that if she mentioned the word 'vampire,' one of them may overhear, even though they were a well distance away.

"Don't worry they can't hear us from all the way over here, that's why I had this particular table reserved for us," Yami assured her with a small smile, allowing her to relax her tense posture before beginning.

"My old life…" He smirked bitterly with a small shake of his head, "It wasn't exactly easy, but after discovering what you've been through I guess I can appreciate it a little more now-"

"That's not-"

"No it is Tea…I can't imagine what your years were like having that…" Yami breathed in deeply in an attempt to calm down his welling rage, the restaurant would not appreciate his cussing outburst and neither would his date, "In any case, I should probably begin answering your question. You know already that Yugi and I were born half-borns in a coven of vampires. Now I don't know much about the other vampire covens, but I do know that ours were definitely not maternal, and lived by a strict code of survival of the fittest. We were raised practically without love and affection from the second we came into this world, and our father hardly had anything to do with us. Our father did however provide us with the best education we could get, home-schooling by a vampire instructor, which was truly a professor from hell, no pun intended."

Yami frowned slightly as an image of the vampire's face came to mind, twisted grotesquely as he barked the lesson out to his two young pupils. "If you did anything wrong in his lesson, such as not paying attention, or not memorizing a text well enough, or even answering a question wrong…he would use corporal punishment to make sure that you never did it again, and trust me, vampires can do damage. Other than that though, our father encouraged the other vampires to rough us up every now and then, to toughen us up I suppose…Eventually I sort of got used to the pain and stopped feeling it all together, but I'm not sure if that was part of my transformation or if I just developed a block against it."

"Your dad used to…"

Yami sighed deeply, "You see Tea, my father is kind of…a highly respected vampire over there and for his sons to be seen as weak by the others would damage his reputation…and my father's reputation means more to him than our lives. So yes, if we were out of line or not living up to a standard that he had set for us, he would deal with us accordingly, which was often violent and brutal…but I hardly ever got on my father's bad side that was more of Yugi's thing." He shook his head in an almost tired way.

Tea couldn't help but feel a small smile curl onto her lips as she watched the older twin before her, seeming to lighten up slightly at mentioning his brother's name. "He liked getting into trouble?"

Yami chuckled lowly with a small nod. "Oh he loved it for some unknown reason…I guess from the minute he learnt how to walk on his own he developed an addiction for adrenaline or something, because ever since then he seemed to almost befriend trouble…and just like best friends he was joined to it at the hip. Wherever trouble was…Yugi…was centered in the middle of it."

"What about you?" She asked smiling.

"Me? Oh, well generally I kept on our father's good side…but," he winked at her, "Wherever and whatever Yugi did, I was often there and involved too…most of the time by influential force, but involved all the same. And damn…I don't know how many times we nearly paid hell for our 'little' stunts."

"Are you trying to tell me that you're actually a rebel at heart?" Tea teased.

He smirked seductively at her, before giving her a mock look of innocence, "Why, Tea, it wasn't my fault! Yugi made me do it!"

They burst out laughing before Tea thought of another question. "What kind of things were you taught?"

"Eh…in the tomb?"

"Tomb!" Tea squeaked in alarm with wide eyes.

"Oh yeah…I should probably have mentioned that earlier, you see…the vampires there inhabit a huge underground tomb that was constructed about three-thousand years ago, specifically for our kind. It's where I was born and grew up…I know that it's weird." Yami side-bit his lip and turned his eyes away from hers, a little nervous about how she would react.

Tea, didn't quite know how to respond…after all it wasn't exactly an everyday thing to live in a tomb your whole life, but then again, she had to remind herself that an everyday lifestyle for a human could not compare to that of a vampire's. "Ah well…I guess it makes sense, vampire…tomb…it's kind of fitting, but quick question before you answer my other question…do you-uh-they, sleep in coffins too?"

Yami felt his lips twitch into a smile. "Not generally…they prefer beds." He decided to leave out the details on why that was. [AN: Get it?]

The small band swapped with another group as they changed shifts, causing a brief pause in the melodious, classic music. Three violin players and pianist, as well as a viola player and cellist organized themselves on the rose-decorated platform, while a harpist fiddled with her instrument.

"Our tomb-education, as I like to call it, started when we were about four-years-old, and consisted of higher-grade arithmetic and geometry, science and astronomy, history, geography, and medicine, which were all taught by the Vizier," Yami muttered bitterly as though the mere mention of his old instructor left a sour taste in his mouth. " And our cousin Seto, took over our combat training…our theory lessons lasted for thirteen hours a day with no breaks in-between, and our combat training lasted for about three…we only got Sundays off."

Tea gaped at him in shock.

"But thankfully we were able to absorb the information like a sponge…eventually…and then he had nothing more to teach us, so we were freed from his class right after we had turned thirteen…but then Seto extended our training to an extra two hours so it wasn't exactly a win." Yami grinned with a small roll of his eyes, "But at least he gave us short breaks in between to catch our breath."

"And here I thought that I had a reason to hate school," Tea joked half-heartedly.

"Actually…I enjoyed school…proper school I mean. Our father never knew about it, but on odd occasions we used to attend a private school in a nearby town, through…uh…crafty means." That was one of the most selfless acts Yugi had ever done for him, in the days when they were still close and willing to do anything for one another. Yugi loved studying about as much as Hitler loved the Jewish population, but still went the extra mile to get them enrolled at a fairly nice school, by means of manipulating the principle into believing that they were his nephews, all just for him, because he had always wanted to know what it would be like to be a part of a normal life.

Tea frowned slightly in confusion at the term 'crafty means,' wondering what he had meant by that, when an all too familiar voice cut in. "And if I had known beforehand about the bullshit that we had to put up with there, I'd have gone back to studying under Aknadin."

Yami's eyes darkened in irritation as he bit the side of his lip, barely muffling a low growl. "Yugi…"

"Evening bro-uh-Yami, and especially good evening to you lovely Miss Tea," Yugi winked as he gave her a small bowl, before pulling out a seat and gracefully seating himself in a comfortable position, giving the couple a warm, cheerful smile that glowed with mischief. "Isn't the weather this evening just lovely?"

"Hey Yugi, how are you feeling? Are you over the hangover yet?" Tea grinned, nervously glancing over at Yami who massaged the bridge of his nose in an almost irritated manner, seeming to almost claw out his eyes.

Yugi smirked at her amusedly, "How kind of you to ask, indeed I am, now I can start working on tomorrow's one."

"Yugi how exactly did you find us?" Yami asked irritably, annoyed that his twin couldn't just give him one night to be alone with his girlfriend.

"Yami, there are only three Mexican restaurants in Domino City…it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you'd pick the one closest to the park," Yugi said in a tone that stated the obvious, curiously examining one of the many forks that decorated the right side of Yami's plate.

"Maybe not, but it also doesn't take a genius to know the difference between a Mexican restaurant and an Italian restaurant," Yami retorted.

Yugi picked up the fork that he was examining and held it up in front of him with an amused expression, "Same fucking thing."

Yami opened his mouth to counter his verbal attack, but then seemed to think better of it and rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Yugi placed the fork down and glanced cheerfully at Tea with mischievous eyes, "So Tea, you're getting to know my brother huh?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Don't get any ideas Yugi…" Yami said in a warning tone.

"But my ideas are awesome!" Yugi defended.

"Oh yeah sure…may I remind you about the fire you started at school and nearly ended up burning the entire thing down to the ground…" Yami countered.

"Oh please! That was an accident!"

Tea's eyes widened. "What fire?"

Yami pulled his gaze away from Yugi's and gave Tea an indescribable look that kind of resembled Garfield's half lidded bored expression. "Yugi…set fire to the curtains in our classroom-"

"Now hang on! I didn't do it intentionally!" Yugi said adamantly.

"Yugi…when you held a match up to a highly flammable object, what exactly did you think was going to happen?" Yami lectured.

He gave Yami a blank look with glazed over eyes.

Yami hmph'ed and turned his attention back to Tea, who was doing her best to hide a grin. "As I was saying we were sitting through a-"

"A fucking boring science lesson!" Yugi chipped in, giving Tea a wink that practically said, 'watch this.'

"…" Yami breathed in deeply, regaining his composure, "Yugi…please don't flaunt your commonness."

"Why would I fucking do that?" he grinned, lounging back against his chair with his arms folded casually behind his head.

"We don't say 'fuck' at the table…asshole," Yami instructed, managing to remain expressionless.

"Why the fuck not?" Yugi pressed, with a grin.

"Because you are in a prestigious environment, act the part you dork."

"Fuck off," Yugi muttered, sticking out his tongue.

Yami was about to retort, when a middle-aged woman walked over to their table, her blue eyes blazing in anger and disgust, seeming to direct it at Yugi, who raised his eyebrows at her, briefly wondering if she was one of the lesbian activists that he may have pissed off recently. Yami shifted in his seat uncomfortably and glanced over at Tea who looked equally nervous, and placed a comforting hand over hers. The stranger pointed a finger harshly at Yugi with a knitted brown and growled at him in silent irritation.

"Yes?" Yugi asked, completely unfazed.

"You realize that a cow was murdered for that!" she spat, referring to his simple leather jacket.

Yami couldn't help but roll his eyes and breathe out a sigh of frustration. Great! This was just what he needed, an argument over who killed the damn cow during his and Tea's first date, and knowing Yugi, it was going to be one that got them all kicked out of the restaurant before their food had even arrived. He turned to Tea, meeting her diamond eyes immediately, and they both smiled, seeming to think the same thing. 'Fuck!'

"Fuck, really? I didn't know that there were any witnesses…guess that means I'll just have to kill you too," Yugi said in a dark tone that sent shivers up the woman's spine, and she immediately began to back away, giving him one final, nervous glance, before practically running away from their table, leaving the trio in awkward peace.

"Yugi," Yami slightly whined tiredly.

He gave Yami the thumbs up and turned to Tea, who seemed to be rather nervous and awkward, but smiled at him anyway. "Fine, I'll give you the clean version. We were sitting through a fudge-ing boring science lesson and we had to light this-uh…burner thingy…so I lit the match and as I lit it, and I was like – hey! Let's see if the curtains will burn…and yeah…they did."

Tea finally gave in to a fit of laughter and shook her head, glancing back at Yami who gave her a comically hopeless look. She gave him a small evil smile before turning back to Yugi. "And while you destroyed your school, what did Yami do?"

Yugi rolled his eyes with a bored expression. "Yami put the fire out, before the real fun started."

Tea smiled at the half-vampire opposite to her, not surprised at all at hearing that he had been the hero of the day back then.

"Well anyways…I just came to say hi, and I'll leave you two for some alone time, while I go and manipulate the prestigious bartender to slip me a few drinks…see ya!" Yugi mused as whirled around and leapt to his feet, adjusting his leather jacket in a dignified gesture. "Oh and Tea," He grinned, "He once ate a dung beetle on a dare, when we were seven. He used to get freaked out by storms and spiders, and had his first erection when he was eleven…you two have a delightful dinner now." He winked at them before disappearing off to the bar, completely ignoring Yami's dark scowl.

Luckily for them the sweet-hearted waitress, brought them their order, so that they had something to do before the awkwardness got any worse.

Yugi smirked evilly as he made his way over to the bar's marble flat counter, taking note of the only other person there with her back facing him. His eyes predatorily took in her slim curves and unusual, but familiar silky haircut. Her silky appearing turquoise dress, hugged her body tightly, ending just five inches from her knees, allowing anyone with a roaming eye, such as he, a good look at her silky, tanned legs. He grinned inwardly, wondering if he could break his record of three minutes in charming her over to a hotel bedroom, as he had once accomplished a month before.

He casually strolled over to her side, seating himself on the stool next to her, before turning over with an overconfident expression, which quickly fell flat the moment their eyes met.

"You!" They both said at once.

"Oh god…what the hell are you doing here?" Razz growled under her breath, glancing nervously around her as though looking for an escape route.

He recognized her eyes first, before bits and pieces of the previous night's memory came back to him. "Razzy!"

"Don't you dare!" She hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes once again comfortably hard and cold. "Just get lost!"

"Where? In your eyes? Sorry babe, but I already am," he grinned.

She glared at him harshly, before turning to face the opposite direction, seeming to completely ignore him.

"You look really hot tonight all glam and dolled up…special occasion?"

She refused to answer him, and continued to scan the dining floor, seeming to pick out each seated individual as though purposely trying to find someone in particular. He followed each of her flickering gazes, before he remembered one of the last things she had said to him. "Oh yeah, you're still looking for someone right?"

She flashed him a look, before immediately looking away, refusing to answer him.

"Ooo…the silent treatment! Ever think that I might actually know where the person is that you're looking for?"

"Will you just leave me alone!" she hissed through clenched teeth, "I'm glad to see that you're still able to walk after last night, but this whole chatting-me-up-thing that you're doing is getting old and lame."

"Whoa! Wait, glad to see that I can walk?" he asked, confused by her words.

"It's a miracle actually," she muttered under her breath, continuing to scan the restaurant.

"Uh…do you know what happened to me?"

She shot him a threatening look, before noticing that he looked extremely confused. "You don't remember?"

"No…I um, don't remember much past talking to you and…three big guys," Images of the taller men were vague, but at least something he could work on.

Razz sighed and rolled her eyes. "Figures that you were so wasted you wouldn't remember any of it today… You got into a fight with three gang members of the Cobra Gang…only the most dangerous gang in the history of mobs… But you actually managed to take two of them down quite easily…then you took yourself out."

"Took myself out?" Yugi asked with wide eyes, not having remembered a fight at all.

"Yeah…you jumped on top of a table near the window on the west side, taunting the tallest one by calling him 'Blow-stick' the whole time, I never got what you meant, but whatever it was, it pissed this guy off tremendously, then you yanked up a chair from beneath the table and tossed it, in what I assumed you thought was in his direction but way off target, and instead of hitting him, hit the wall that was a foot away from you and instead backfired in your direction and knocked you right off the table, and through the window." Razz informed him with a look that heavily implied, 'idiot.'

Okay, at least one mystery was solved, but why couldn't he remember any of it.

"Well did my fighting skills at least impress you?" He grinned suggestively, remembering that he still had a score to settle with her.

"I wouldn't call what you were doing, fighting, it was more like a jungle dance."

"That's cuz' you bring out the wild in me baby!" Yugi chirped giving her a wink, which she actually smiled at… and Yugi couldn't help but think that that was totally creepy, what was the girl up to? "See, I can make you smile!"

She rolled her eyes, "Don't count on it!"

He was about to reply when an overwhelming sensation, warningly hit his core. His body jerked at the impact, as what felt like an electric bolt, spiked through him and had to grab onto the counter to prevent him from falling off the stool. His eyes widened as realization hit him, and he immediately jumped into action, knowing that time was of the essence, and very little of it still remained.

Razz noticed his sudden change in behavior an immediately grew concerned. "Hey are you okay-"

"Are you staying in this hotel tonight?" he asked in a rushed and serious tone.

"As if I'd tell you-"

"Don't go out by yourself…if you're not staying here, call a cab, just whatever you do, stay off the streets," Yugi warned her in a very serious tone, giving her a concerned look before turning away from her and dashing off to the other side of the restaurant, leaving her to stare after him with confused eyes.

He made his way over to Yami and Tea's table as they finished up their meal, and discussed the dessert menu.

"…So is that ice-cream with chocolate sauce?" Tea asked with an amused smile, as she pointed at a space on the menu.

"Yip, but because it's a fancy restaurant, it's given a complicated name that is hard to pronounce, to up its price," Yami joked, flipping through his menu.

"Yami!"

Yami rolled his eyes, "Yugi, really, this is very-"

"You've got to get Tea out of here now!" Yugi instructed with a very serious tone, as his eyes glared out through the window before returning them to Yami's concerned ones.

"What? Why Yugi? Tea asked worryingly, picking up on the discomforting vibes that were exchanged between the twins before her.

Yugi briefly glanced at Tea, before turning away to look at the people that were dining in the restaurant, and then turned back to them. He met his brother's eyes with sincere seriousness and muttered one word that totally caught them off guard. "…Vampire."

---

Dadadaaaaaaaa-dadadaaaaa! Wow so much drama! Its hard to believe that this is only the first part! Yip you heard me, part one! See, It was taking too long, and I didnt want to keep you waiting too long, so I kinda had to finish it off with a dramatic 'one-word-fearful-statement' hahahaa! Originally, Razz got creative and kicked Yugi's chair out from beneath him at the bar, to which he got up, brushed himself off and said, 'that was fun! do it again!' But It didnt work out so well so I didnt write it in.

Okay so any thoughts? Questions? Still liking it? ...? I'd love to hear, but right now its 11:38 PM and I've been working on this all day. See you in the next chapter! Lovies! Mwa mwa!