"Trust me, Yami!" little Yugi pleaded. "It'll be fun!"

"But Yugi, wouldn't you rather go to the game?" the little one's darker half replied.

Yugi's eyes watered as he gazed up into the spirit's deep violet orbs. "Just go to the basketball game with Joey and Tristan, Yami. I promise you'll have so much fun!"

Yami desperately tried to avoid his light's tear filled eyes, glazed with the look Yugi knew he couldn't resist. He sighed and put on a reluctant smile. "All right, Yugi. I'll go, but if I end up embarressed, guess who gets the blame."

Yugi giggled and smiled back at his yami. "I knew you'd give in to my fake crying! But you will enjoy yourself, Yami. You need to get out more, you know...broaden your horizons!" With that, the little one quickly finished getting dressed and transformed into his darker self.

The spirit eyed himself in the mirror and couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw his outfit. He was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and had some type of shirt on with a number and logo on its front. Shaking his head, he snatched the game ticket on the dresser and made his way towards the arena to meet Joey and Tristan.

As he walked along the winding streets, he saw duelist's everywhere competing against eachother and sighed heavily. He wanted to duel, but Yugi had made him promise not to challenge nor accept any challenges from anyone on his way to the game. He couldn't help but chuckle at his light's determination to get him to the game without any distractions or interference.

Finally, he arrived at the large dome-like building, dozens of people flocking inside as he joined the crowd. The place was huge and he was easily lost, but soon found his way to the aisle number indicated on his ticket. Once he saw the massive playing court, his eyes widened in amazement, but his staring was soon cut off by two familiar voices down below.

"Hey Yami! Get over here man!" Joey's voice rang as he motioned to his friend's counterpart. Yami quickly made his way down and took his seat next to Tristan in the third row from the front.

"We never thought you'd show up. What, did you have to duel someone on the way here?" Tristan teased.

"No, actually Yugi made me promise not to duel anyone." Yami replied with a smile, as two lines of women ran out onto the court with orange balls bouncing on the hard wooden surface. "Who are they?" he asked.

"Those are the two teams. They'll be competing in this game." Tristan informed the spirit.

"And what's the point of this game?"

Joey quirked an eyebrow at the ancient pharaoh and spoke. "Man, Yami. You really need to watch more TV. There are five players from each team on the court at all times and with the ball, they try to score by getting it in the hoop on both ends."

Yami nodded and continued to watch the shoot around session, trying to learn the game play quickly when his attention was drawn to one of the players. She was about his height with dark blue hair and mesmorizing green eyes. His head fell slightly to the left as he observed her skill, but quickly snapped back to reality when she noticed his staring. She grinned at the gawker and thus continued with the practice session, Yami still stealing glances at her.

At last, the game began, both teams darting back and forth across the court and Yami was almost getting dizzy. He shook his head, then a loud whistle rang in his ears, giving him a headache.

"Dang!!! What is up with this crazy place?!" Yami shouted, quickly being hushed by Tristan.

"Hey man, keep it down! They're in a time-out for cryin' out loud." Tristan told him.

"Ohhh...sorry. Well what happened that the whistle had to be blown?" Yami questioned the two seemingly "all-knowing" teenager's.

"That girl there was just fouled," Joey said, pointing to the girl which Yami had been staring at earlier standing in the huddle with her teammates." And now they're coming up with a strategy so someone can score."

Yami glanced again at the girl, seeing an arrangement of letters on the back of her shirt. "...Landon."

"That's her last name, Yami." the blonde pointed out as Yami again nodded. "What's her first name, Tristan? Do you know?"

"Isn't it Reia?"

'...Reia.' Yami thought to himself, repeating that name over and over in his head, trying to figure out why it sounded so vague yet so clear. "Is it possible to meet with the players afterwards?" he asked, getting two awkward yet knowing glances from the two young men.

"Why? You wanna ask her on a date?" Joey teased, catching a smirk from Yami.

"No...I just think I'd like to talk with her. I have this strange urge telling me to." Yami replied, looking down at the game play as it again resumed.

And so, the team clapped once in unison as the five players took their places on the court, the tallest one to throw the ball in bounds. The crowd watched excitedly as the ball quickly darted to all corners that the offense had placed until it was in Reia's hands. "Reia!" the tall one shouted, blocking an advancing defender. "Shoot!!"

With the shot clock winding down, Reia released the ball from beyond the arc and it went through the hoop with a soft swish, followed by roaring cheers from the spectators as the ten players made their way back to the other end of the court.

Yami couldn't help but smile as Reia exchanged a glance with him after the shot, seeing her blush faintly when she noticed his grin. He applauded quietly and leaned back in his seat, now clearly comfortable as Tristan and Joey each quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What?" the spirit said confusedly. Joey snickered, then burst into a fit of giggles, Tristan too struggling to hold back a sudden urge to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You. You're flirting and you don't even realize it!" Joey said, unable to restrain his continuous chuckling.

"Yeah, I may be stupid when it comes to girls, but man, you're worse than me at flirting." Tristan added.

Yami looked sheepish and straightened himself in his seat. "I'm not flirting with her, just complementing her is all." he replied, hoping that would clean up his mess.

"Uh huh, and it seems your complements have turned you into Barbie, 'cause your face is pink!!" Then at his words, Joey couldn't help but laugh histerically and fall out of his seat, landing with an "ouch!".

Yami blushed again, but quickly changed his embarressed look to a harsh stare at the two teens, each of them stifling their histerical giggling. "Sorry man...couldn't help but laugh at that." Tristan immediately corrected himself while helping Joey back into his seat. "It's just we can't resist laughing at you and your interesting ways of hiding what you feel."

"I guess I need more practice then..."Yami said, almost coldly.

Then, there was silence among the three as the game play continued, finally ending with the home team emerging victorious. After it was over, Yami rose out of his seat and hopped over the barrier that divided the stands from the walkway down below. Tristan and Joey shrugged and decided to follow him.

After ten minutes had gone by, the players began making their way out of the locker room, the three young men congratulating each of them as they walked by. At last, the blue haired girl came out last to meet the brilliant amethysts of Yami's eyes.

"Uhh...hi." she said, extending her hand out to him. "Who might you be?"

Taking her hand softly and giving it a little shake, Yami replied with a smile. "Yami Mouto, and you are Reia Landon, correct?"

She nodded and grinned in return. "Pleasure to meet you, Yami. Any relation to Yugi Mouto?"

Joey and Tristan froze, unsure of how Yami'd get out of that question. "Yes. Very close relative." Yami replied cooly, hearing the other two sigh in relief. "Allow me to introduce you to Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, two close friends of mine, as well as Yugi's."

Shaking their hands quickly, Reia looked back to Yami curiously. "You look really familiar...have we met before?" she inquired.

"Can't say that we've crossed paths before, Reia. But that's why I came to see you because I felt I had seen you before as well." Yami said in return. "Well, I best not keep you any longer. I'm sure you have more important things to tend to. Again, it was a pleasure meeting you, Reia."

She stood there with a blush as Yami kissed her hand politely and smiled once more before turning to leave. "I hope I see you again, Yami." she said as he and his comrades walked off.

"I think someone's found a new guy to daydream about every night now..."one of the players said as she arrived at Reia's side.

Reia turned and looked at the girl she had played alongside earlier. "He seems...familiar somehow, Jayne. Like...I've met him at one time or another. Like a dream."

"...I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream...la la la la.."Jayne teased as Reia playfully shoved her to the side, both of them giggling.

"Not like that, you goofball. Just sorta like deja vu, you know?" Reia said, taking on a look that made it seem as though she was contemplating deeply.

"I get what ya mean..." Jayne replied, adding a smile. "But I still think you like him." She immediately backed away as Reia prepared to shove her again. "Hey, you gotta admit he does look pretty hot."

Stopping with a blush, Reia replied. "Well, yeah...I'll give him that. Still though...makes me wonder. Oh well, I'll think about it on my way home. See ya at practice tomorrow, Jayne."

"Bye Reia, don't think too hard. We'll need your brain tomorrow!" Jayne laughed as Reia picked up her sports bag and walked away towards the exit.

Chapter 2 - Attack in the Alley