"Why are men so stuck on themselves and they think they own a woman just because they are who they are?" Reia growled to herself as she weaved her way through the streets to Kaiba Corp. Yami's arrogance and the way he was trying to keep her with him made her brow furrow into a steep angle. It was just like her mother had told her before she left. 'Men are dense and highly predictable.' (A/N: No offense to any guy readers! I love you!! lol)

Once she reached the massive building, she started walking through the entrance when a deep voice halted her. "Nice to see you again, Miss Landon."

Reia looked to her left and saw the presiding and slender figure of Seto Kaiba stand just slightly aside of the entrance, but still flirting with the shadows. "Nice to see you too, Seto. Where's Mokuba?"

"He stayed at home today, but I thought I'd be your host in his place." He added an irresistable smile with that comment, radiating a delightful pulse through her already weak body. She felt her legs shake a bit in his presence, unaware that he had taken note of this action and came to her side to steady her.

"It's a beautiful day, would you like to go to the park? We can get to know eachother a little better there."he suggested.

"I'd like that. You just lead the way." Reia replied when he held his arm out for her's. With a smile and a faint blush, she looped her arm through his and followed his smooth stride down the street. As they walked, she couldn't help but let a little note of pride stream through her mind. 'Ha! Take that, Yami!'

"So...I hear you're a pretty good duelist. I'm just now learning."

Reia noted his peculiar silence at her remark when she realized she must have tapped on a subject he was no longer comfortable with. "I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's all right. Yeah, I'm one of the best duelists in the world, but I've set aside dueling for more important matters that require my attention." he said, a hint of gruffness in his voice.

"...Like?" Reia urged with a grin from her host.

"Like my company, Mokuba, you, and other things."

"Wow, I rank pretty high on your to-do list."she commented with a sarcastic laugh.

"Yes...you do."

For a split second, Reia didn't like the sound of his voice - like a mysterious phrase a madman would use to capture his stalked prey. But this was Seto Kaiba's motives she was questioning. He would never have any intention of harming her, or anyone for that matter. He just most likely hadn't been involved in a relationship in a long time, rendering him nearly clueless on how to act with a woman.

"Well, I'm honored, Seto." she finally said after pushing the crazy thoughts out of her head.

"The honor is mine, Reia." Seto said back, looking down at her with those gorgeous sapphires of his he knew no one could resist.

'Dang it...he's as bad as Yami. Trying to lure me into a false sense of affection. Stupid men.'

"So who's teaching you how to duel?"

She didn't want to say his name, she was too frustrated with him to even really think about him in a respectable light. "You probably wouldn't like him...he's not the best guy to hang around with."

"You talking about Yugi Mouto?" Seto blurted to her surprise. Reia was still unaware that Yugi and Yami were one in the same, she just thought they were brothers or something.

"You're close, he's a close relative of Yugi's. His name's Yami."she told him.

Seto would have stopped in his tracks at the words that had come out of her mouth - had it not been for his escort. He knew that Yugi had no other close relatives alive besides his grandfather, but what about this Yami guy...?

"Can't say I've heard of him. Ah, we're here." With a quick brush aside of the present subject, Seto gestured at a soft patch of grass over-looking the small lake. She smiled humbly and sat down, Seto following suit.

So they chatted and discussed matters of Seto's business, how he and Mokuba had become so close, and about his dueling experience. Reia at first found the conversation dull, but when he started talking about his Blue Eyes White Dragons and how they were once legendary beasts in ancient times, she began to take an interest. He showed her each valuable card, telling her how each had some significance to him and she wished she had brought her deck with her, but she had left in such a hurry, she forgot to even pick it up.

"Tell me more about yourself, Reia. With hair like that, you're bound to have some interesting history." he teased, receving a playful shove from the blue-haired athlete.

"I grew up in Egypt, fell in love with the game of basketball, came here to play and I've loved every moment of it."she replied simply, not desiring to go any deeper.

"Can you show me your shooting style?"Seto asked, a well concealed enticement buried in his tone.

Reia nodded, but thought to herself of the pain she'd feel once she showed him, then he'd inquire about it, leading her into the story of her incident. Why was everything tied to that messed up afternoon? With a deep breath, she raised her arm, curved her fingers as if a ball was in her hand, and flicked her wrist, sending a shooting pain right to her shoulder instead of a ball through a hoop.

She immediately cringed and clasped her hand over her tender shoulder, catching a worried glance from her host. "What's wrong? Did you hurt your shoulder?" he asked, gingerly touching the wounded area that was hidden beneath her jacket.

"It's nothing, really....don't worry about...it..." Once her face had turned to realize his was inches from her's, every known reaction in her body froze. Her eyes trailed his gaze, following their actions as they probed her face, her's doing the same without consent. His lips looked so soft and his eyes were even more inviting, their raging and exciteful fire melting into a cool blue river.

The breath in her lungs refused to grant any action to her as she noticed Seto start to edge closer. Before she could do anything to stop the on-coming kiss, her weakness got the better of her and his mouth reached hers, taking her senses by storm. He moved slowly - cautiously - as to keep her distracted from where his other hand was retreating to. What he planned to do Reia was still completely unaware of, and the only thing she knew was that his lips were doing all the necessary work.

His right hand travelled up from her tender shoulder to her neck where he began to hold firmly, nearly squeezing to keep her in his kiss. Tighter and tighter his grip became, slowly choking her with each passing second and her blood began to pulse rapidly. She needed to breathe desperately, but he refused her desire to break apart, pressing her even harder against him as she continued to try and push herself away. Finally, her body became so weak from the exhausting kiss that she slumped forward - as if she could've gotten any closer to him - and her breathing seemed to have come to a sudden halt.

Seto grinned slightly and stood up, leaving his "guest" in a motionless heap on the lush grass. With a silent chuckle to himself, he dusted off his shoulder and strode away as if nothing had happened.

As the white trenchcoat dressed tycoon exited the area, Yami and Joey darted out of their hiding place and knelt at Reia's side. Yami felt her pulse that had slowed dramatically, and Joey checked the condition of her wound once more, not seeing any further damage. "Man, Kaiba sure knows how to treat a lady, don't he?" Joey said sarcastically to his comrade.

"Precisely what I was thinking." Yami replied, sighing deeply at the sight of this woman whom he had saved the life of and had already fought with in a matter of days. "Well, we can't just leave her here. Let's take her back to the Game Shop and we'll tell her what happened when she wakes up."

With a smooth, swift motion, Yami lifted her up into his arms, her azure hair draping over his shoulders. Why him? Why had he been blessed, but also cursed with this difficult woman whom he couldn't take his mind off of? And why did she look so shocked when Kaiba was about to kiss her? Hadn't she ever been kissed before?

What was he thinking? He hadn't been kissed before either. Some expert on romance he was.

"Hey Yami..."Joey's voice started. "What was up with Kaiba just now?"

That was a good question. Yami had too caught the slow actions of Seto. He at least knew that when you're about to kiss a woman, you generally hold her gently - not choke her. Kaiba was up to something and Yami didn't like the idea at all.

"We all know that Kaiba is a mystery in himself, but we shouldn't worry about that too much. Reia's my primary concern right now." Yami said in return, tightening his hold on this strikingly beautiful woman he didn't want to lose. He cautiously began to draw her scent in, her enchanting fragrance filling his nostrils and melting his heart with each hesitant breath.

Joey had been watching the cute scene as they walked, smiling at how...charming Yami tried to act with this girl when she was concious. But when she wasn't awake, the ancient spirit eminated a sort of tranquil gentleness that would soothe even the most demonized of souls. Joey had now finally begun to catch on that this was no ordinary friendship or crush, this was real.