I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. This takes place after DSOD movie.

Chapter One- A Nighttime Walk

Joey glanced back as his friends and he walked down to an ice cream shop. Kaiba Corp appeared to be open and Joey could not believe that anyone would want to work on a Sunday. Kaiba must be one cold-hearted guy to force his workers to work Sundays.

"Joey? You okay, man?" asked Tristan, noticing Joey had slowed down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't believe Kaiba would make his employees work on a Sunday."

"He's not," Yugi said. "It's only him and Mokuba. He's planning a summer internship for kids and teenagers who are interested in gaming whether it's software designing or testing prototypes."

"And how do you know that?" Joey asked.

"Mokuba came to the game shop to ask Grandpa if he could put a flyer on the wall."

"Oh! So if anyone's interested then they can go see Kaiba."

"Well, only on weekends and after school."

"You're not thinking of applying, are you?" Tea asked.

"What? No way. Besides, Kaiba wouldn't accept me in his internship."

"That's true," Tristan said before giving Joey a somewhat sly grin as Joey seemed a bit anxious. "You gonna want to go for a walk tonight?"

Joey grinned back at the suggestion. "I would. You gonna pick me up?"

"Sure, buddy." Yugi and Tea didn't find the conversation odd as they were aware of the hidden meaning. Joey had told them at least a year ago that he was a born werewolf.

The gene was carried by both genders but only the men's gene activated around pre-adolescence. Joey was sure his heritage came from his dad's side of the family as his dad tended to shift into a wolf whenever he got seriously drunk and he got real aggressive. Joey, at first, had to hide to avoid injury. When his gene activated, he would take wolf form to counter his drunk father. Joey had gotten a surprise when his father turned submissive and led Joey to believe that he also had the alpha gene in addition to the werewolf gene. He further found that he could tap this gene even when in human form.

Joey had explained that he was self-aware and able to talk whenever he changed. The full moon was the only time when Joey could bite someone with the girls carrying the virus in a dormant state which would spread to any offspring and trigger in the sons while a bitten man would transform on the very next full moon night.

Joey possessed the senses, strength, and speed of a wolf in both forms. He enjoyed roaming in wolf form, but his gold fur gave him the look of a dog and the city's leash law required all dogs to be collared and leashed at all times when not at home. If Joey wanted to walk in public as a wolf, one of his friends had to accompany him as if they were the owner. The only time Joey could roam free was at the park and he usually did that on the full moon as he couldn't change back to human until morning.

He had been worried that his friends would shun him for being a werewolf; he should have known that they wouldn't leave him for that as they had seen a lot of strange things together. They assured him that he being a werewolf was fine as he had been born one and it explained his overreaction to Kaiba's dog cracks.

Kaiba is someone I wouldn't tell about my heritage, he thought as the gang entered the ice cream shop and he looked at the menu boards. He would just mock me and probably worse than before. Then again, he wouldn't believe me if I told him; not that I would tell him. Joey put Kaiba out of his mind as he got a sundae and joined his friends in typical teenage conversation.

Kaiba moved his fingers over his laptop mouse as he worked on budgets and consulted various department reports. He heard Mokuba sigh out of boredom and didn't blame him. It seemed no one was interested in a summer internship with his company. He hoped to inspire the next generation of programmers, designers, and technology enthusiasts with this internship, but it seemed to be a failure.

Kaiba shook his head slightly. He just started this project! It was too soon to give it up now! However, if I don't have even one person by the time summer vacation starts, I will scrap the program. He consulted one more report before he said, "Let's head home, Mokuba. It's possible that no one's noticed the flyers yet."

"Yeah, they probably haven't," Mokuba agreed as Kaiba called for the limo to come around. He packed his briefcase and headed out to the elevator with Mokuba beside him.

It was almost dark as they stepped outside and into the limo. Kaiba stared out the window, not really seeing the scenery. They pulled up to a red light and Kaiba then noticed a dog and its owner, the latter Kaiba recognized as Tristan.

He frowned thoughtfully. I wasn't aware that Tristan had a dog and a strong-looking one at that. Kaiba's eyes assessed the dog with its gold fur, pointed ears, long full tail, and muscled limbs and body. Tristan seemed to be having a little trouble controlling his pet, but Kaiba gave it no further thought as the light turned green and the limo pulled away.

Joey was practically shaking as the time of his walk approached. He was anxious to sniff the air, jog down the sidewalk, and just enjoy the evening. Yes, he could have done that as a human, but he felt an urge to do it as a wolf. Finally unable to wait, he pulled on a jacket and was about to open the door when he heard a wolf growl and a slurred voice saying, "And where do you think you're goin'?"

Joey glared over his shoulder at the pale gold-gray wolf. "I'm headin' out for a walk," he snapped.

Mr. Wheeler gave a growl that indicated disapproval and Joey said, "Oh, shut up," his alpha status coming to the forefront. His father whined and slunk away. Joey nodded, opened the door, and stepped out. He had reached the sidewalk when Tristan came up the way.

"I thought we were meeting at the door," he said.

"I'm restless and Dad's drunk. He didn't want me to leave. I just told him off." Joey shifted to wolf form.

"Well, after we graduate, you could move out. I wouldn't mind having you live with me." Tristan crouched down to apply the collar and leash.

"I could move out, but I am an alpha and Dad listens when I tap that part of myself."

"Yeah, he does. All right, Joey. No more talking until I say so." Joey barked in response and practically yanked Tristan down the sidewalk.

It was a pleasant night and the people they passed were amused at the sight of a dog pulling his owner along. Joey merely panted and sometimes barked as he enjoyed his walk. He stopped to sniff a hydrant near an intersection and was about to pull Tristan away when a limo stopped at the red light. Joey turned to look at it and with his night vision, he could make out Kaiba and Mokuba sitting inside.

He stood there, recalling Yugi saying Kaiba was planning a summer internship and his own thoughts over whether he should tell Kaiba the truth about himself and then dismissing the thought as Kaiba wouldn't believe him; heck, Kaiba didn't even like him. He wondered about why he had even wanted to tell Kaiba as Tristan and he resumed their walk.

Maybe it's because Yug considers him a friend, despite their rivalry. I'm one of Kaiba's rivals too, though ours is a bitter one instead of the grudging respect between him and Yugi. I wonder…would Kaiba and I become friends if I did apply for the internship? Only one way to find out.