Within half an hour, the pair – or rather, Yugi's body and Atem's attached mind – were at the arcade. Yugi immediately put a 100-yen coin into the machine in front of him and threw himself wholly into a card game.

Atem allowed himself a small grin. At least his aibou hadn't lost his will to play card games. But as he watched the match continue over several minutes, he began to worry. He was a little too into it, getting frustrated at every slight disadvantage. Atem could see this quickly becoming an all-consuming obsession if something wasn't done about the situation clouding his aibou's mind.

To a sudden sound, Yugi's eyes immediately shot up, as if he were a deer caught in headlights. His suspicious actions piqued Atem's interest and the pharaoh began listening intently. Then, he heard it too.

Anzu's laughing voice.

"Anzu?" Yugi said aloud. He poked his head around his machine, and sure enough, he spotted her in the distance, getting testy with the other players in a racing game. Her face was extremely focused on the game, and when she passed another car, she laughed again.

"She's here," Yugi whispered to himself, and – as Atem noted, much to his relief – suddenly he forgot all about his card game, his fingers now hanging loosely on top of the machine's buttons.

"Well, this is the closest arcade to your school," the pharaoh stated. But what an opportunity! he thought to himself.

"Yugi, tell me: Is there anything around this room that would particularly appeal to Anzu?"

Yugi looked confused for a second, then scanned the arcade room. He saw two possible suspects: both were claw machines, one for big toys, and another for small stuffed animals. He pointed to the small stuffed animal claw machine. "That. Anzu really likes small, cuddly things. She always has," he finished quietly, feeling another bout of wistfulness come over him.

When the pharaoh didn't respond, Yugi looked at him through his mental link. "Pharaoh?" When he got no response from the older male save for a smirk, the realization suddenly dawned upon him.

"Oh."

Atem had a point; Yugi was pretty good at arcade games, and the claw machine was no exception. He began his move toward the machine, checking to his side often to make sure Anzu was still fully focused on her game. He tippy-toed near the machine, and was almost there…

"Hey, watch where you're goin'!" a big, burly man – who looked far more appropriately suited to be in a gym than here at the arcade – snapped at Yugi. To the boy's horror, Anzu looked behind her at the sound of the commotion.

Yugi abruptly moved so the man was blocking her view and transformed his voice by a full octave. "Sorry about that," he said, scurrying off while grabbing the guy and using him as cover.

"What's the big idea?" he said, but then, to Yugi's surprise, when he got a good look at him, he laughed. "You're a cute little guy," he said.

Yugi stammered, "T-thanks," and jumped over to the claw machine as swiftly as possible, hiding behind it. He tried to think of a solution as fast as he could.

"I-I left you a present at Burger World!" Yugi said suddenly, trying anything to get him off of his tail.

"You…you did?" the man said, his eyes absolutely twinkling. "What is it?"

"You'll have to go there and see yourself! Mention my name, and it'll include a free burger!" Yugi declared. Little did the man know that it was just Free Burger Day, and his name wouldn't do squat.

The biggest smile crossed the man's face. "Oh yeah?" he said, clapping his hands together. "I am pretty hungry! That sounds positively lovely!" he oozed. "So, what's your name?"

Yugi looked around, trying desperately to make up a name on the spot.

"K-Kaiba. Seto Kaiba." He said it in almost a whisper, hoping no one else in the vicinity would hear him.

"Well, thanks, little man! I mean, Kaiba. Or should I say Seto?" he flirted, waving his fingers at Yugi as he left.

Yugi waited until after he was gone for a full minute before letting out a sigh of terror, and relief. He came out from behind the claw machine.

"That was…"

"…something else," Atem finished for him.

He turned to face his target, and quickly eyed its contents for the cutest yet least impossibly-placed stuffed animal he could find. "There!" he said, pointing at the little, cat-faced, white bunny on the back shelf. It wasn't the easiest grab, but it was definitely the cutest. Yugi inserted a 100-yen coin into the machine and lined his prey up with the claw. He spent a good ten seconds looking straight into the machine, from the side of the machine, and diagonally to make sure he had a good shot at getting it. The problem was that it was on the back wall, so it'd be hard to grab on all four sides.

He pressed the big, red button and watched as the claw sank down to grab his catch. It had a clear path on three of the sides, but wasn't able to grab the bunny's backside. Instead, when it came up again, it pushed the bunny down off of the back shelf so the poor thing landed on its face on the soft cotton floor of the machine.

"Got it!" Yugi said triumphantly.

Atem raised a brow. "But it's still in there."

"Just watch," Yugi said, winking.

This made Atem smile. Yugi seemed to be quite into winning the little critter for Anzu, and he was happy to see his aibou grinning again. Yugi put another coin into the machine and lined the claw up with his faceplanted target. He spent another ten seconds checking his alignment from all sides before hitting the button again, and he watched with anticipation as the claw descended.

As the claw neared the bunny, Yugi's eyes lit up. It grabbed the white bunny on all sides and picked it up, but when it reached the top with the critter in tow, the claw shook violently from the recoil of stopping suddenly. Atem realized Yugi was holding his breath. The bunny's foot fell out of the claw's grip, and the critter seemed to be edging toward the gap between two of the talons more and more as the claw moved. Yugi bit his lip as he watched the two move back toward the front left side of the machine.

He watched it like a hawk, and his diligence was rewarded: his face lit up in glee as the little white bunny was let go and tumbled down the winner's pit.

Yugi pumped his fist in the air and shouted, "All right!" then immediately covered his mouth and crouched down silently to fish the prize out of the machine. He picked it up and looked at it as if it were as precious as his newborn child. Atem's whole countenance smiled at the boy's victory.

Now, it was time to give it to Anzu.

"All right, aibou, let's give it to her," Atem said with pride, eyeing where Anzu sat now.

When the boy didn't respond, he said, "Yugi?"

Yugi was standing still in front of the machine, looking at Anzu. He looked to be frozen in place. "M-maybe we can play another game first?" When Atem gave him a look, he continued, "I-I-I just need a little time to loosen up, is all."

"Yugi, I understand it may be nerve-wracking," he said, glancing back over at Anzu and her game, "But she's almost done with all four of her races. We have no way of knowing if she's going to play another round or leave."

Yugi looked down at the bunny, then down at his shoes. "I…I guess you're right." Still, he couldn't bring himself to move.

He tried to steel himself. Come on, Yugi, you've known her all your life! It's not like you haven't talked to her thousands of times before, he tried to reason with himself, convincing himself it was no big deal. But his legs still felt like Jell-O.

"Yugi…" Atem started softly, "would you like my assistance?"

Yugi shifted his lips against each other and felt his ears grow hot in embarrassment. "I…"

"Yugi, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Atem coaxed.

Yugi stared at the bunny, then nodded. "Please help me, Pharaoh."

With that, Atem overtook Yugi's body, relegating Yugi to watch from the pharaoh's usual seat in his mind.

Atem closed his fingers around the small bunny and moved casually toward Anzu. Just as he approached, she shouted at the machine, "SECOND PLACE? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I WOULD'VE BEEN FIRST IF THE WHOLE GAME WASN'T CONSPIRING TO GIVE EVERYONE BLUE SHELLS!"

Nearly the entire arcade floor looked at her. It took her a second to realize this, then sink in her seat, flushing crimson. When most people had looked away, she got out of her seat and stood sheepishly by the machine, eyes downturned.

Atem chuckled. Immediately, Anzu was alerted, and she looked up. "Yugi?" she called in surprise.

"Hello, Anzu," Atem greeted. She approached him as he continued, "I suppose these games do seem a little unfair at times."

"You can say that again," she huffed, crossing her arms and turning her face to stick her tongue out at the arcade machine.

She looked back at him. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to get a little bit off of my mind," he replied simply, avoiding delving into too much detail for his or Yugi's comfort. "What about you?"

"I…uh…" she started, but instantly began to falter. Could she say it to his face?

"I'm…here with Kaiba," she explained, pushing her two index fingers together nervously. After a moment, she peeked up at his face to gauge his reaction.

"Oh, I see…" Atem said, frowning. Suddenly, he could feel the weight of Yugi's disappointment and rejection heavy on his mind. He tried to brush it away from the front of his brain in order to continue the conversation. "Where is he?"

"He's on the fighting game floor playing Dead or Alive," she said. "I don't really like that kind of game, so I came downstairs when he got really into it."

Atem nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're here."

Anzu looked confused. "You are? Why?"

Atem opened his hand to reveal the little white bunny Yugi had won. Immediately, as if it were a magnet, Anzu's eyes were drawn to it, and she nearly squealed as a flush of glee spread over her cheeks. "Oh my goodness! Where did you find that?!"

"That claw machine over there," he said, pointing behind him and to the side with his thumb.

Anzu drew her hands together in front of her and just stared at the bunny for many seconds. After a while, she couldn't stand it anymore. "Can I…can I hold it?"

Atem waited until she was looking directly into his face to respond. "Of course, Anzu. It's yours."

"It's…what?" she asked, her face blank. "It's mine?" Atem only grinned.

"It's for me?" she repeated, her voice tinged with excitement. To this, the tricolor-haired pharaoh nodded.

"Oh, thank you, Yugi!" she said, nearly launching herself forward, and Atem definitely noticed. But, she felt hesitation keep her back, and she throttled her reaction down to simply smiling widely and taking the little bunny gingerly from his hand.

Atem witnessed her conscious reversal, and tightened his lips a little at her hesitation to touch him freely. He noted that he should be grateful for every single form of affection she showed or even hinted at from this point on now that she was with Kaiba.

He closed his eyes as she approached, taking a deep breath and letting the feel of the soft brush of her fingers against his hand envelop him in a fluttering sensation, starting from his chest. As he concentrated on it, he could feel Yugi's desire pound in his heart alongside his own. Losing himself in it was like a form of whole-body meditation.

When she retracted her hand, he opened his eyes again to look at her, the beautiful object of his affections. She was consumed by the small critter, squeezing and petting it and rubbing it gently against her face with a peaceful smile playing on her lips. She looked very happy.

He watched her, mesmerized by her gentleness with her new prized possession, one she seemed very grateful for. "Beautiful," Atem couldn't help from saying under his breath. Yugi was silent, but felt exactly the same way. They both appreciated the sight of her lavishing attention on her little animal, and grinned happily when she attached the bunny to her phone case.

"Thank you, Pharaoh," Yugi said from within his mind.

Atem smiled. "And thank you for getting her her present," he returned. Yugi blushed, grinning bashfully.

A sudden, familiar voice interrupted both of their thoughts. "Yugi?" it called questioningly.

Atem immediately snapped out of his daydream at the unwelcome intrusion. "Kaiba," he answered the brown-haired man, before he even saw his face.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and resumed coming down the stairs, watching Atem. "What are you doing here?" he said as he came upon the pharaoh and his girlfriend.

"Using the machines, of course."

"I mean with Anzu," he clarified, shooting daggers in Anzu's direction.

"She was simply here at the same time."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at her new phone critter. "Where did you get that?"

"I won it at that claw machine over there," she said, pointing to the one Atem had shown her earlier.

Kaiba followed her finger to the machine and saw the other animals inside of it.

"I see. Let's get going; I need some fresh air after seeing him."

Anzu looked stupefied with her mouth slightly agape, but nodded. She looked to Atem. "I'll see you later, Yugi," she said quietly, almost shamefully. She gave him an apologetic look before following Kaiba out of the arcade.

"See you, Anzu," Atem called after her. As she disappeared from sight, he growled. How dare Kaiba make her feel ashamed to talk to him?

He could feel Yugi's deflation about the whole incident fill his consciousness to the brim.

"Don't worry about it, aibou. There is still much we can do; that was only the first try. I'd say all of that enjoyment we witnessed because of her new phone charm is a definite win."

Yugi lightened up a little and agreed. The pharaoh had a point: that had clearly been worth it.

But even so, he stared after where Anzu had disappeared from the arcade with a feeling of deep longing drowning his heart.