A/N: Decided to give you all a present on this very, merry Christmas and publish my top secret very near-completed story that I have been working on behind the scenes for months. Still needs some tweaking, but I think I've gotten to the point where I'm ready to publish it. I hope you all enjoy!

Shadow & A Dancer

Chapter 1

How on earth had this man, who, at his full height, was no more than five feet five inches tall, managed to reek more havoc in a span of three months than anyone else in the entire history of Domino City? And Christ, if Yugi Motou wasn't the prettiest thing he'd ever seen – what, with round enticing amethyst eyes that took up his whole face, silky smooth skin that wrapped around his lithe yet toned frame, and long indulgent locks of raven black and honey blond hair that practically begged for someone to run their fingers through.

Wait – this was the brutal mass murderer who eluded police for months on end only to walk into the FBI headquarters, hands in the air, and turn himself in?

"Seriously?"

Atem blinked, accompanied by a well-concealed shake of his head.

Sure, he had seen pictures of the infamous sociopath on the news and in case files but, as Atem concluded right then and there, the images did not do the man justice.

Atem hadn't realized that he had verbalized the disbelieving sentiment aloud until the federal prison guard next to him turned to address him. "Don't underestimate him," he said. "I know he looks like he couldn't hurt a fly, but if you turn your back for even a second, he'll snap your neck and smile while he does it."

The guard gazed through the one-way mirror at the man who had accrued a larger body count than any spree or serial killer known to the city had ever done. Atem's eyes followed suit, and he watched with a sort of morbid curiosity as Yugi drummed his fingers on the table that the cuffs around his wrists had been chained to. Yugi's chair was turned halfway, giving Atem a clear view of the man's profile. Even from here, on the other side of the mirror, Atem could discern the expression Yugi wore for that of boredom with perhaps a touch of annoyance.

"I've been working here for over 10 years…" the guard spoke again, bringing Atem out of his reverie. "Never have I known an evil like him."

Atem responded with nothing more than a simple nod of his head as the guard unlocked the door leading into the consultation room. Atem allowed the mask that he reserved solely for these types of encounters to click into place as the door swung open. "We'll be right here if you need anything," the guard said. "Don't worry."

But Atem wasn't worried. Over the past five years under the employment of the Federal Bureau, he had done his fair share of interviews with serial killers and mass murderers alike to accrue a kind of confidence and composure that most others misplaced when confronted with the mind games and threats of bodily harm that people of this particular variety dished out.

When he walked in, Atem could see Yugi flick his gaze at him out of the corner of his eye. The drumming of his fingers stopped mid-air, as Yugi scanned him over once, then turned his body in the chair to face him completely.

"Puh-lease tell me you're my new personal prison escort," the little sociopath opened with.

"I'm afraid not," Atem responded, not missing a beat. Walking towards the table, he pulled the seat out across from Yugi, the chair legs screeching against the old hardwood floor. He settled in the seat, placed his paperwork on the table, and adjusted his glasses, before addressing Yugi again. "My name is Dr. Sennen – "

"Oh god, you're the shrink?" Yugi clicked his tongue and, crossing his arms lazily over his chest, leaned back in his chair, chains clinking against the cuffs around his petite wrists. "Pity," he muttered, gaze now on the cracks in the ceiling, not even trying to hide his disdain at the revelation.

"I am here to conduct a forensic interview –"

"Lovely. However, I have been informed by the sea - and I do mean sea - of shrinks before you that I have…" Yugi paused, his lips tilting and eyes narrowing in thought. "…oh, yes! An anti-social personality. That being so, you see, you must accept my candid noncompliance with this interview."

Atem refrained from rolling his eyes. He had expected the pushback, however, as Yugi hadn't agreed to speak openly with anyone since his arrest and subsequent conviction. "I'm sure your legal counsel has informed you of your mandatory cooperation with this interview," Atem said blankly.

"Mandatory." Yugi lifted a hand in the air dismissively, chain raising with it, then lowered his hand back to rest on his bicep. "A rather useless concept when you're unable to reinforce it."

Atem frowned, seemingly unimpressed. "Well, I don't see what the harm is. It would certainly aid in any appeal you may file – "

"Appeal?" Yugi laughed, his lavender gaze snapping down from the ceiling to once again focus on Atem's face. "Well, aren't you just delightful? Sweetheart – "

"Dr. Sennen if you could –"

"I can't." Yugi grinned. "Look. Precious. I've been convicted of one hundred and sixty two murders. I don't think I am in a place to appeal to anyone."

"Speaking of said murders –"

"Let's not and say we did."

"That's not how it works."

"Says who?" Yugi quirked an amused eyebrow, the corners of his lips twitching under threat of a smile. "You?"

"Well, for starters, you have been court-mandated to comply."

"Pah." Yugi rolled his eyes. "Look at all the fucks I don't give."

Atem suddenly understood why it took the jury less than fifteen minutes to return with a guilty verdict. "Well, this type of response is to be expected, I suppose, given your blatant defiance of authority."

Yugi dismissed Atem's words with another lift of his hand, waving him off and suddenly looking very bored. "Yes, yes, I'm also easily provoked, have a rather skewed view of right and wrong, and apparently a broken moral compass to match. Etcetera, etcetera. Really now, you must have better things to do than bother me with this bullshit."

Despite the way in which he bristled on the inside, Atem simply shrugged at Yugi and proceeded down a different avenue. "But don't you want others to hear your story?"

"Ah, appealing to my narcissism, are we?" Yugi chuckled. "Don't bother – I don't fancy myself all that much."

"It could perhaps provide closure –

"Spare me, doc, would ya? I would sooner flip the switch myself than have you try to appeal to my conscience right now."

Atem blinked. "Wow," he said before he could stop himself. "You're really a dick, huh?"

Silence.

Heavy, tense silence filled the room.

Atem inwardly flinched, but on the surface remained expressionless. With that accusatory remark, he had managed to back himself into quite an impressive little corner. He couldn't apologize for his words for it would have been a show of weakness, and Yugi would surely lose all respect for him if he did (if any ounce of respect existed in the first place, which Atem highly doubted). But Atem couldn't just start down a new line of questioning either until his comment had been addressed. So, he simply had to wait for the sociopath to respond.

At the moment, Yugi was staring at him, his eyes an almost negligible fraction wider than usual – the only hint that he was at all taken aback by Atem. A few moments later, he gave Atem an owlish blink. Then another one. Then, bit by bit, those pink lips stretched to make way for an absolutely dazzling smile. "Sennen, was it?" Yugi purred, as he slithered out of his seat and leaned forward over the table, the sound of metal scraping when the chains pulled tight and restricted Yugi from moving any closer.

"Come here, darling. Let me see that gorgeous face of yours up close."

"Yeah…" Atem pursed his lips with a small shake of his head. "That's not going to happen."

"Why?" Yugi gestured down to his hands with a small nod of his head. "You can't possibly be afraid of me. I'm cuffed." Yugi pulled at the chains again. "See?"

"Even so," Atem said, slowly. "I typically try to keep my distance between sociopaths. You all are a rather…volatile lot."

"Ha! Oh, I like you. I really, really do." The violet eyes shimmered, the younger of the two thoroughly enjoying their little interaction. "Do you really think that I couldn't get to you if I tried? Do you honestly believe that this table and these flimsy little chains would stop me?"

Atem's heart thudded under the implicit threat, but he was as composed as he'd ever been on the outside. "Perhaps not," he said coolly, with a small lift of his shoulders. "But I must inform you that I will defend myself if need be."

Yugi laughed, eyes sparkling all things dangerous. "You wouldn't last two seconds, doc. But... lucky for you, you have been the highlight of my time in this eternal hellhole. So, for now, I'll play good prisoner."

That being said, Yugi plopped down in his seat and, almost immediately, Atem felt his body lose some its tension. At this point, Atem probably could've moved onto a safer, less threat-inducing line of questioning. But Atem was known in his field for his ability to thread on thin ice with unfathomable ease. Best not fail his reputation, he supposed. "What would you honestly gain by killing me? What does the act of killing provide you?"

"Well, for one, it would stop your useless prattling." Yugi grinned. "Though I do find your voice hauntingly sexy."

Atem blinked, annoyed. He was getting absolutely nowhere with Yugi, and though he enjoyed a good ol' fashioned 'this is like pulling teeth!'interview as much as the next guy, Atem knew when to call it quits. He had a low threshold for running around in endless circles. "You have made it clear that you do not intend to cooperate with this interview," Atem decided, standing to his feet and gathering his belongings in his hands, all the while ignoring the sudden glare Yugi was pinning him with. "So, I will document your refusal and be on my way. I wish you the best, Mr. Motou."

Heeding the guard's warning and relying on his own personal instincts, Atem walked away from Yugi at an angle, so that he did not have his back to him completely just in case the sociopath decided to make good on his threat.

"Fine."

Atem almost did falter under the abrupt break in silence, enough so that he paused in his retreat. Atem turned halfway from the door and observed Yugi's rigid body language complimented by his annoyed expression. "Fine, what?" Atem asked.

Yugi glanced at him sideways through narrowed eyes. "I'll answer your damn questions."

Really? Atem wanted to respond, but did his best to keep his surprise from shining through. "Okay," he said instead, as he retraced his steps back to his seat. He lowered down onto the chair, slowly, and placed his paperwork back onto the table. When he looked back up, Atem found those eyes watching him and took a moment to search the pools of violet to find the monsters that dwelled within them, not for the first time noticing the way Yugi's long thick eyelashes framed those irises of beauty and of death. What a beautiful disaster he was. What a breathtakingly god-awful man.

"Well?" Yugi hissed, pulling Atem out of his thoughts. "Don't you have some questions to ask me?"

To Be Continued...

A/N: Please, please review! :)