A/N: My friend Monika Mitsugawa, previously known as "PiNkLeM0NaDE" on Quizilla, first wrote this and never finished it. At first, I planned to post the entire thing as is, but… my flash drive had been wiped clean so there was way no way I could do that. Except for the first two chapters, the remainder of the story is entirely mine, save the fact that I don't own YuGi-Oh or any of the characters associated with them.

She wrote this in dedication to the author "NekoZukiKyo" and I am continuing that on as well. After all, she is my bestest friend :D

About the story.
Yes, I am writing a Seto Kaiba fanfic, as surprising as it might be but it always sounded pretty darn interesting to do so and it's for a friend so… what the heck! Why not? The title, "2ART" is in dedication to the arts: photography, dance, music & acting. I wish I could have added more but oh well… Have fun and don't forget to review!!

-yuARELoVeD

Chapter One: Little Mermaid

I sat at a cherry wood table with six other men. The meeting had been going on for the past three hours without any progress and now several people were twitching in their chairs. My back was stiff so I cracked it, making everyone else at the table jump.

One man, a representative from Kobeyashi, stopped twiddling his thumbs and sat up. "Mr. Kaiba, like I had stated earlier, Kaiba Corp needs to find a model within the next three months to star in the Calpico commercial."

The representative from Mitsugawa Industries chimed in. "Before that matter of business, our CEO emailed you a request for a new song artist in exchange for our company sponsoring the opening of KaibaLand. Not to mention next month's deadline for the winter clothing line model, might I add?" The arguments sparked once again and the room was noisy with bickering representatives.

I cleared my throat and the room became silent. "Like I also had stated earlier, Kobeyashi has not sent me a script or any information on the requirements of the Calpico model. Mitsugawa Industries, I will send further information in time. Please tell your CEO to be a bit more patient. Also, I would like to remind you at this point that Kaiba Corp has the power to shut down any of your companies so I would like to see that the representatives are better prepped for meetings like these. I hereby call this meeting adjourned."

There was an awkward silence throughout the room, as if each person has just realized what their mistakes could have cost them. Meanwhile, the representative from Kobeyashi tried to lighten the mood. "Ahem, now that the meeting's over, why don't you join us for a nice stay at the sauna nearby and relax a little?" The other men laughed and agreed.

I looked at my watch. "I have another meeting in three hours and I don't have enough time to even get there. I'm sure you understand." My abrupt tone startled the other businessmen.

"Oh-! Yes sir. We do understand. I'm sorry we brought it up."

I straightened my silver tie and put my black jacket on over a plain white button down shirt. I stood up to dust off some white specks on my black pants and walked out of the room without another word. There, Max led me out to the parking lot. As soon as I got into the car, I immediately took a deep breath and relaxed.

Max chuckled. "Stressful day, sir?"

"Very. The room was filled with a bunch of amateurs." He slowly drove out of the underground parking lot and began to hit the accelerator as soon as we hit the highway.

"I can imagine. Well, I hear that you agreed to find a model and a new song artist. Just how are you thinking of managing that, sir?"

I sighed. "I really don't know. It seems just about impossible with all these wanna-be artists these days."

We drove on for several minutes without another conversation until Max asked a peculiar question. "Sir, do you believe in fairytales?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Me, believe in fairytales? That's more like something Mokuba would believe in."

Max brushed it off; he was used to people with cold personalities. "Perhaps then, is that a 'no,' sir?" There was a brief pause and when I did not reply, Max went onto to continue talking on his own. "Well, I read someone where in the papers this morning that some odd professor in America has began an expedition to search for the lost city of Atlantis."

Just as Max had begun talking once again, a viewpoint came into view. It was an ordinary beach on a day like any other. However, today, there were no people running around the shores. After all, the cold season was beginning and it was way too windy and chilly to be outside, nevertheless, to go swimming.

As fate might have brought Max to the subject of fairytales, something white in the water caught my eye.

It couldn't be…

"MAX! Park the car… RIGHT NOW!"

Max was so confused he hit the brakes right away. "Sir?? What's the matter?" he asked, startled. I threw the door open and ran out of the car before he had his answer. As I ran closer, I saw that it wasn't just my imagination. There really was something out there in the water.

Heaven forbid… mermaids don't exist in real life! …Do they?

As I sprinted towards the shore, the glare faded and the outline began to come into view. I stopped when I felt the water touch my shoes and I took a step back. I stood there staring at the water when I finally realized the figure had disappeared. I scanned the area but there was nothing there in the water, not even stray seaweed floating around.

"Sir!" I looked over my right shoulder to see Max running towards me, out of breath. "Sir, what happened?"

"Didn't you see that?" Max looked at me, puzzled.

I didn't know quite how to explain it. "There was this thing… glowing… in the water. It seemed for a second there that it was a white mermaid of some sort," I said, my voice incredulous.

Max laughed. "I'm sorry I'm laughing, sir, but the weather must be getting to you. Perhaps it was the question I asked you." He looked back towards the water and pointed along the horizon line. "You see? There isn't anything there at all." Suddenly, the wind began blowing harder and tore my jacket open. "Oh my! Sir, we better get you home! Come with me please."

I walked back towards the car, using all my strength to fight against this wind. Just as we got halfway across the sand, I felt this sudden urge to turn around and look back once again but I ignored it.

The second I took the next step, I heard a faint splashing sound. I turned around and saw that the figure was back. I sprinted back towards the waters and heard Max call out for me but ignored it and pressed on. I had to know what it was.

Now that I wasn't fighting the draft, (rather, it supported me) I began moving my body faster than my legs could run. Just as I hit the water, the wind stopped and I knew had a clear view of the water. It wasn't a mermaid- it was a girl wearing a white dress and she seemed to be losing her consciousness. As I drew closer to the water, I threw off my jacket and shoes. At this point, they would be nothing but dead weight.

I dove into the water and at that minute, I realized exactly how cold the water was. The water stabbed at my lungs and I forced myself to come up for air. I looked around for her and saw that she was floating farther away.

Where did she come from??

I looked around, trying to figure out how she might have had possibly gotten this far from shore. She wouldn't have intentionally walked into the water for a swim on her own, not in that dress. Not to mention there wasn't a towel or bag in sight.

Just then, to my left, I saw a cliff with a seventy-four foot drop. A little beyond the cliff, I saw a blue sign with the words, "Vista Pointe," on it with bold white lettering. It stood at the end of a narrow path that seemed to lead to the highway. There was no railing around the edge of the cliff and I eyed the drop. I would never dive off of that. The thin trim of jagged rocked below made me shudder.

No way.

Shocked, I looked back at her. She definitely didn't seem like the person who would go cliff diving during this season or just about anything dangerous at all. Just then, I heard tires squeal. At first, though I highly doubted it, I thought Max might have left me. However, the sound had come from the cliff. I turned around and saw gravel falling from the edge of the cliff. I got a glimpse of the license plate, but it was too far to distinguish the letters.

NO WAY. Realizing just how bad the situation had become, I swam towards her and sped up my strokes. Why am I going after her?

I inhaled and dove into the water once more. Under the layer of water, it was pitch black as if all life had been sucked out. If this was Mokuba, I'd still be doing the same thing. But this isn't Mokuba. This is some stranger whom I've never met.

I swam forward, trying to remember which direction the girl was in. All those years of swimming and working out were finally paying off.

A life is a life. Still, I'm not the type that would go out of their way and save someone either. So, what's the deal with this inner conflict? I came up for air again and nearly crashed into her. She began sinking and without thinking, I dove after her, forgetting to take a breath. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her waist. Just then, I coughed under water and swallowed some saltwater.

Disgusting. I kicked as hard as I could but she began slipping from my grasp. Shit. I'm drowning. Saving someone was harder than I thought. Not that I had actually thought about it before. I can't die here. Not yet, now or never.

I tightened my grip under her armpits and kicked swiftly. After what seemed like ages, I finally reached the surface of the water. I threw my head back and took a huge gulp of air. Still breathless, I tried to paddle ashore with her, but failed.

I'm sinking. I flipped over, carrying her over my own body, and began swimming backwards towards the shore. Urgh, the backstroke. My worst stroke.

Surprisingly, this worked much better and the waves began to carry me ashore. After two hundred and thirteen more kicks, my sodden feet touched sand. From here on, I lifted her up and carried her to dryer land. Just when I thought I has reached far enough from the waves, my hands slipped and I (accidentally) dropped her to the ground.

Exhausted, I called out for Max who was already running towards me. I slumped down, and when I did, I saw that my hands were covered in blood.

What?!

I quickly wiped my hands on my shirt, looking for any cuts or gashes. There wasn't any. Wide-eyed, I looked at the girl I just rescued. Lo and behold, there was a gash on the left side of her head, probably from her plunge down the cliff. I sharply inhaled and winced. It would definitely need some medical attention.

"Max!" I cried out. "Call for an ambulance!"

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A/N: Here again! Just realized… my "Max" seems an awful like the butler for "Batman Begins" & "The Dark Knight." But this was written in a foreign country & it was written before the movie came out. Interesting thought though…