Yami stared at himself in the mirror, fixing the spikes in his hair with even swipes of gel, turning his head this way and that, barely able to recognize the person staring back at him.

It felt like he was getting ready for a first date, and in a way, he was.

This was going to be his last hit. Retirement was in his sights.

He'd huddled down in the country of Japan, living in a low rent apartment in the middle of downtown Domino, spending most of his days outside and only returning to sleep.

What annoyed him was how comfortable he was getting in this country.

Normally, he wouldn't accumulate stuff, because stuff meant luggage, baggage, unnecessary items that only weighed him down. But for some reason, here, it was too easy to go shopping and buy himself a comfortable outfit.

Secondhand shops were abundant, making it easy for him to sell the outfits back…but he found himself mourning the clothes, so he'd repurchase them like a madman, finally deciding to get a storage unit.

All of these pointed to signs that he needed to settle down and stop traveling at a moment's notice.

He could move, but he knew that moving meant leaving.
And he wasn't ready to leave yet.
His high-value target was here.

Seto Kaiba.
A.k.a his retirement kill.

And in order to get close to this target, he needed to be somewhat fluent in Japanese, so he threw himself into learning the language, which was a relief from his weekly-monthly violence.
He enjoyed studying.
The silence and solace was comforting.

Soon, he found himself at an intermediate reading and writing level 7 months into his stay in Japan, and he dared to begin opening his mouth to speak. Ordering food was no issue, reading signs on the street became easy.

Being normal was difficult.

People had stared at his bald head, and some even whispered about him on the train.

It made his stomach twist in a strange way, so he rushed to learn the casual speaking language even faster, to understand what they were saying.

They said he looked like a gangster.
So to fit in some more, he'd grown out his hair, shocked at himself for caring. Normally he wouldn't care, but everyone looked so neat and clean, it made him want to fit in.
And the fact that he didn't because his skin was dark was already a factor.

Leaning back to stare at himself in the mirror again, Yami adjusted the knot on his tie.

Clean. Neat.
His fingers were manicured.
He'd splurged on himself, choosing an expensive vintage watch–a Rolex Daytona with a white dial and gold rim–because the sharp eyes of Seto Kaiba and anyone in his billionaire circle could smell poverty from the brand of tie clip he chose to wear, to the way he tied his laces.

So he had to get this suit custom fitted, and he had to fix his appearance up to perfection. He enjoyed the salon manicure so much that he wished he could get one every two weeks.

It was nice not to see his hands all dry and roughed up for once.

He tugged obsessively at his bangs, hoping it looked good…good enough to Seto Kaiba.
Why did he care so much when he normally didn't?
Maybe because the CEO was handsome.
It was such a waste that someone who looked like him was going to die today.

Or maybe he doesn't have to die, Yami thought guiltily to himself, thinking the number offered for his head was waaaaaay too good.

Having been in the headhunting game for more than 10 years, he knew when to walk away, and something was telling him to walk away from this job.

But he wanted to see the CEO's face for himself before he acted on the order, so to reduce the chances of accidentally killing him, Yami had decided not to bring any weapon on his body to the gala.

He was as normal as could be.

Dipping his hands towards the faucet to wash his hands, he froze when he saw another man enter the washroom, and his heart leapt into his throat, making his ears hum when he recognized the neat crop of light brown hair.

The CEO glanced up and they made brief eye contact in the mirror, and Yami quickly ducked his head back down, his ears burning white-hot.
D-Dammit.
Spotted.
Well, being spotted by his targets was normal.
It was the nature of being a grim reaper.

I'll make his death painless because he's handsome… Yami thought to himself as he quickly exited the bathroom, not wanting to be alone with the man for longer than a minute.

Something felt off about himself, and he couldn't risk it.

Past incidents told him that if he felt strange when pulling the trigger, he should hold off until he felt prepared.

Otherwise, he'd obsess over the aftermath… like he did with Panik.
He had no reason to look up Mai Valentine, and yet, he had.
Why?

It was rare that dead people left mental imprints on him, and the fact that Panik did, shook him.

And here it was happening again, but this time, it was Seto Kaiba, who was very much alive.

Walking out of the hallway and towards the round tables, he found his table number and sat down at his assigned seat. He was attending as a high-rolling investor, so he knew people would want to come talk to him, surrounding him, making it easy for him to look over people's shoulders at Seto Kaiba, who was doing the same thing.

A server offered him champagne, so Yami took it and inspected it briefly before taking a sip. He'd personally made sure he knew every waitstaff face and every drink that was being served.

Leaning into his seat to listen to the chatter around him, he turned to sweep the room over his shoulder, freezing again when he caught Seto Kaiba's brown head of hair striding through the room to sit down at his seat, and when the man glanced up, they made brief eye contact again.

Furious, Yami turned around and faced the stage, his heart thundering in his chest.

Why…
WHY did he feel this…racing anxiety?!
Seto Kaiba was a harmless keyboard nerd.

He made computers, phones, and games.
Maybe he'd stolen a patent, and that's why he was wanted dead.
Maybe…it was a superchip the CEO had made that wasn't so super.

I can speculate all damn day, but it's the fact that I'm questioning it. Yami raised the champagne glass and noticed another familiar figure swimming through the room in a glittering, silver dress.
Mai Valentine, with her blonde curls done to perfection.
Funny how the more high-society he got, the more she showed up.

Maybe today was the day he'd finally talk to her.

To his annoyance, he saw her hovering around Seto Kaiba, and his temper flared so suddenly, the feeling scared him.

Mai was eyeing Kaiba the same way she would when she had a big fish on the hook.

Deciding to act, Yami slipped his phone out and called her number from his encrypted line. He'd be damned if she got too close to Kaiba and caught the other end of his bullet.

Placing the earbud into his ear while plugging in the voice scrambler, Yami acted as if he was taking a conference call.

No one was sitting at the table anyway. Everyone was up and about, mingling.

Mai was about to tap Seto Kaiba on his shoulder when she felt her phone buzzing in her purse, so she frowned and stepped away to answer it.

Standing in the back near the emptier tables, Mai slipped the phone out and frowned at the private number.
Okay, a creep?
She pressed the phone to her ear and tensed when a garbled, robotic voice speaking English made her blood run cold.

"Don't touch him. He is mine," Yami said evenly, holding up the wine glass so he could see her in the reflection of the stem, watching her turn nervously to face the wall and hiss back.

"Who the fuck are you?! … Are you watching me? Stalker. Pervert. Your blackmail won't work. I don't have anything you want."

Aw, Yami smirked and answered, "...it's me, Atem."

There was a thin silence before Mai's tone changed and her voice dripped with sugar, "are you my secret admirer? You did me a super big favor a couple years ago. How can I ever thank you?"

"Starting now," Yami said with a nod, setting his wine glass down to inspect his manicure. "Stay away from Seto Kaiba, because bullets can go through people, in case you forgot."

There was another silence and Mai whispered, "...no babe, don't do that…"

"Why not? He's worth a lot," Yami frowned, feeling his stomach twist again, this time with doubt…because he agreed with her.

"He's worth more alive, trust me, I know," she said, her voice dropping in tone. "And not just because he's a pretty face, okay? He's 24, which means he's notthat gross yet. Oh, and if you need another reason, he has a little baby brother. You'll be orphaning a kid. Don't you meat-eaters have a code? No kids, no women? …Or something?"

Yami's frown deepened and so did the swirl of doubt.
Yes, he'd come across the little kid in Kaiba's file.
Mokuba.
Age…10.
That was reason number 3 he didn't want to instantly kill the CEO, and here he was, chatting with Mai like they were old friends about his doubts.

"It does…feel like a waste, because he's handsome," Yami finally spoke his most dreaded inner thoughts aloud, and to his annoyance, Mai let out a chortling laugh that could be heard from across the room.
C-Could she…not openly laugh at him like that?!

Heads turned, and Yami glanced behind himself, hating how he thought he felt Kaiba's eyes on him again. Time to hang up.
He'd been on the phone for a couple minutes now.

"Tell you what darling," Mai said sweetly, and Yami could hear her jewelry clinking through the receiver as she shifted the phone from one ear to the other. "You can have him, as thanks for that other thing. Have fun playing with him, but when you're done, I want him next. I've got a list too, you know. He's on it."

Yami wrinkled his nose and felt himself smile.
Yes, he knew she had an extensive list of rich men to con…

"I don't share anything I play with, ever," Yami began slowly, and Mai cut across him with a huff.

"Well I don't play with damaged toys either," she shot back cleverly. "So you either keep it in good condition or I'm stealing it from you. He feels like he'd be a great toy, so you're right. It would be a waste. Goodbye, Atem. Thanks agaiiiiiin!"

The line went dead in his ear, so Yami unplugged the voice scrambler and rolled the wire back up into his pocket, his body jittery.
He was about to do something terrible…

Grabbing the champagne glass, he tossed it back in three gulps and opted to get drunk instead.

Yeah, fuck this.

Seto Kaiba should live, because he was nice to look at, the price tag to hit him felt like a scam that wouldn't cash out, and there was a kid in the family he would be orphaning.

3 reasons to say no.

4th reason…
A 'security guard' was circling the edge of the room.
He had a military stance anytime he stopped walking to rest, and had his feet planted apart, hands folded in front, as if protecting a gun. There was a bulge of a holster at his ankle. His earpiece led Yami to look for others, and he found four other men with similar stances, and he decided that was it.

Enough reasons to walk away.
Fuck this.
Champagne refill! Retirement time.

He raised his hand cheerfully and saw the server come walking over with the tray of glasses. Taking one and drinking half of it in two gulps, Yami let the alcohol sting his throat while he considered his next steps.

He wasn't that drunk yet, so before it fully set in, he would muster up all his courage to speak to Kaiba.

As if on cue, Seto Kaiba walked past his table to stand closer to the band playing on stage, and the man leaned handsomely on the table in front of him, giving him a delicious eyeful of his slender form in a tight suit.

He looked clean and neat, the blazer accentuating his back, leading Yami's eyes down past his pert ass, to the way his pant leg cuffs shimmied over the stacked heels of his dress shoes.

I don't look that good from the back, do I? Yami picked up his champagne glass and decided to talk to the man.
One conversation.
And wherever it went from there, he'd accept it.

Approaching the table, Yami chanced a smile he hoped didn't waver and let the drunkenness speak for him, "...Pity."

And he dared to stare a few seconds longer into the man's clear blue eyes, his heart tightening with a mixture of awe and envy at how pretty the other man was.

Kaiba let out a huff and gave him a small smile in return, answering with, "what?"

"You," Yami glanced down into his glass and decided to drink for lack of something else to do, so he tilted it back and drank the rest, speaking the words that felt like poison to his own tongue, "you're attractive. I hate that.".

Because it was affecting his judgment.

The men were closing in from the corners of the room, inching through the tables, as if it wasn't obvious they were about to ambush.
So it wouldn't matter if he was the trigger man or not.
Those men had sent other men to make sure he followed through, making him a target too.
Bastards.

He knew it was too good to be true and this made his next decision easier.

"It's a pity you find me attractive," Kaiba retaliated, and Yami laughed cheerfully, feeling the CEO's eyes linger on his face, and he decided in that instant, he wanted to try a physical connection with this man.
The worst thing that could happen was that it would feel disgusting.
Right now, it didn't feel that way at all.

"It's funny… You're funny…" Yami said mindlessly as he counted the seconds and mapped out an escape route for them both, angling his wine glass to keep his eye on the two men behind him. "I told them this would be my last time. This…right here. I wanted to be done with these events forever. I'm out."

The men were closing in…

"Yeah, these things bore me out my fucking mind," Kaiba was replying with what sounded like earnesty and Yami wished he could stay focused on the CEO while he talked, barely hearing what he said next, "But anything for the good publicity, right? That's how this works. Can't escape it."

Ah yes, escape.
They both needed that.

"Right, right…" Yami repeated himself because he was out of conversational phrases, his senses heightened when he saw the man behind Kaiba's shoulder remain 19 paces away.
This was their opening.

"I want to escape it. All of this, all at once. Do you know anywhere we could go where no one knows us?" He offered, and caught Kaiba's eyes widening prettily at the corners. Y-Yes?
Was that a yes?
Whatever.
No time!
The man behind Kaiba was now 12 paces away and advancing.

"They're watching us. Let's go somewhere where they're not watching." Yami muttered and he shot his arm out across the table to grab Kaiba by the wrist, his palm burning at the touch, telling him that it felt right, and this was the right thing to do.

He dragged Kaiba away from the table and made a beeline for the stairwell, reminding himself to wipe the feeds later, making mental checklists on which countries would be safer.

Kaiba was still trying to talk to him, and the attempt was sweet while they ran down the first few flights of stairs.

"Hey, slow down. I don't know your name!" Kaiba huffed, and Yami's heart hummed in his ears as he replied automatically, "If we make it to your car alive, I'll tell you my name–"

The men burst into the stairwell to give chase and Yami didn't hear anything else Kaiba said. He could only shout over the din of their rushing footsteps and he gave Kaiba's arm a shake, "Call your car! And then a plane. We're leaving the country for a bit!"

And they ducked through the parking lot, pinning themselves against the back of the van while Yami listened to all the noises, separating them.

The roar of a car's engine upcoming, multiple footsteps rushing through the rows, Kaiba, still trying to talk to him, asking, "Who are they? Why are they after me?" But not looking too scared, merely a bit annoyed, so Yami gave him a tired smile and said, "They want you…and me, dead. Our odds of survival are better as a team."

Great timing on Kaiba's driver because the limousine slid into their view, so Yami pushed Kaiba in front of him, head down, to get him inside first to protect him, but after Kaiba sank into the seat, the CEO kept his arm out to the side, holding the door open for Yami like a huge gentleman, it made Yami's heart swell.

This man was the right choice to keep alive after all…

The door slammed shut and they sped off down the line of cars in the garage.

Yami didn't flinch when he saw the men hold up guns and fire into the body of the limo as they drove past, and he resisted the urge to give a middle finger.

He turned breathlessly to praise Kaiba for his caution, "I did my research on you, Mr. Kaiba. Armored and bulletproof! Chauffeured around by ex-racers. I guess you are what they call 'smart money'."

Kaiba was blinking at him rapidly, appearing to be completely unfazed by the earlier bullets, and that made Yami's heart skip a real, solid beat in his chest. Wow…
This man wasn't afraid of him at all… It made him want to… kiss him.

Light from a passing streetlamp illuminated one side of Kaiba's face before it darkened again, so Yami took this chance to shove his doubts down his own chest, throwing his arms around Kaiba's neck to draw him closer so their lips could connect, and his world changed. His mood lifted and his heart soared, his body growing light as he parted his lips to sink further into Kaiba's hot breath, and his legs trembled so much, he couldn't stop them from burning so much, it felt like he was melting from the inside out.

Cool hands came up to cup his jaw, tilting his head upwards, higher, because Kaiba was tall, and even sitting upright, it was hard to reach him, so Yami moved without thinking, deciding to straddle the CEO's long legs. A small voice in the back of his head told him he was acting disgusting, but no part of him cared.

His lungs screamed for air so he had to back up to catch his breath, mourning the loss of Kaiba's lips on his when they swelled and stung after being kissed so soundly.

"Let's go to Norway. I've always wanted to vacation there." Yami declared, his eyes roaming over the way Kaiba's hair fell handsomely across his brow, so he tousled it just to see what it would look like messed up, and his heart leapt with happiness when Kaiba gave him a boyish grin that lit up his entire face.

"Yeah I've always wanted to go too," Kaiba breathed as he leaned in to catch a whiff of an intoxicating scent. "What's your name?"

Yami opened his mouth to say 'Atem' but felt a cold, twisting feeling rising up in his chest. He…didn't want to be Atem right now.
Right now, he wanted to be swept away.
He wanted to forget Atem and start again.

"You have to think about it?" Kaiba teased him and leaned forward to land a playful nip on his ear that made his cheeks burn.

Yami stared at the high bridge of Kaiba's nose, his mouth moving automatically when he spoke, "I have a weird name, so I'm a little insecure about it. I'm not Japanese."

Kaiba blinked once and then shrugged, because he figured as much. The guy looked like nothing he'd ever seen before, and he was secretly itching to touch the spiky hair, waiting for a polite opening to ask.

They were sitting nose-to-nose, and he had a really nice boner.

"Okay, what are you?" Kaiba asked conversationally as the car went over a bump, jolting Yami a bit off his knees, and Yami maintained his grip atop Kaiba's shoulders as he whispered, "...Dangerous…"
And the CEO took it as a suggestive joke instead of seriously.

"Oh yeah, you're fucking dangerous," Kaiba complimented smoothly, daring to rest his hands atop slender thighs while the man remained sitting on top of him. The weight was reassuring, and his own face burned with an embarrassed flush at his own language. "So you're not going to tell me anything about yourself but we're going to Norway together?"

Yami's throat tightened and the name dropped from his mouth unconsciously, "You may call me Yami."

Because he was an eliminator who lived in the shadows, so an anonymous name like that was perfect.

"I'll go with you for your protection," Yami added quickly, noticing Kaiba's gaze slipping down to fixate on his lips, "and I'll watch out for you when we return too, just to make sure those men don't try it again."

Kaiba gave him a dry laugh and Yami stared at him, fascinated by the way his adams apple jumped in his slender throat.

"I pay thousands for security. If I die, then I'm dead, so what?" Kaiba replied playfully, and his new friend gave him a cold, narrow-eyed nod.

"True words," Yami said calmly, his heartbeat slowing down to an even pound the further they traveled down the highway. He realized he was still sitting atop Kaiba's legs, so he gently eased himself off, hating how he had another question.

"What about your brother?" Yami asked tentatively, and Kaiba gave him another cold smile.

"I better not die then, right?" Kaiba retaliated as he slid his phone out of his pocket to see a notification from the pilot. "Take off is in 50 minutes, that's the nearest available time they can clear a runway for us. You need to pack a bag, right?"

Yami nodded stiffly and his mouth went dry as he said, "...yes. You can pull over at any gas station stop. I'll cab to my place, then cab to your runway. Make sure you're not followed."

He might need some time to come to terms with being chased by low-grade military grunts hired to do his job because the clients didn't trust him with the target.

Kaiba gave him a funny look and said, "why the fuck are you cabbing? I'll drop you off."
Because he had a feeling if he let this man go, he'd slip away.

He seemed very likely to do that, because he was acting defensive, with his hands tucked under his thighs.
Hey now, was he…chickening out? Changing his mind?!

"Thank you, I live in downtown," Yami said slowly, and he watched the driver take the nearest exit and pull up to a red light. "Those men are after you, so please be careful."

"Please," Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Everyone's after me, tell me something I don't know."

"That would be hard, you're a smart man," Yami attempted a compliment out of the blue, and was taken aback when Kaiba gave him a bright smile that made his heart skip a beat. Dazzled, Yami nearly missed the familiar building when they passed it, and called out for the driver to park alongside the street.

He'd only be a second. A minute. Since he only had one bag to pack.

Kaiba reached out to grab his hand when he was edging towards the door, and Yami glanced down at the pale hand around his wrist, his heart thumping in his chest. This man touching him didn't make him feel disgusted at all…

"Come back, okay?" Kaiba began, his voice cracking. "Don't fuck around with me or you'll find out just how much I don't tolerate my time being wasted."

Yami felt himself laugh and he gave the CEO a pretty grin.

"Oh, I know," Yami replied with a confident nod. "I'll be in and out in 4 minutes."

And with that, he hopped out of the car and ran down the block to enter his apartment building, making a mental list of what to bring.
Gun A, ankle holster, gun B, arm holster–no, this was vacation.

He would bring…sunglasses, extra underwear? His only three sets of clothes, hair gel, lots of it. Nail polish? One magazine of bullets and…one, tiny gun with a silencer.
Just in case he changed his mind.


Author's note:

this is how they met at the beginning! 3 (full circle!)