Frozen by Your Side

By: Darkest Ember

Chapter 17: Battle City Begins

Summary: Dani Devlin is Duke Devlin's estranged twin sister. When they were younger, their father had asked a local game shop owner, Solomon Muto, to teach him to be a game master. They end up playing a dangerous game that ages their father 50 years in one night. From that moment on, he becomes obsessed with vengeance and plans to use Duke as a means to that revenge. Unable to save them both, their mother escapes with Dani and moves to America. A few years later, Dani starts to see the negative changes in her brother and decides to move back to Domino during her junior year of high school to save him. There, she meets Yugi and the gang, who all share her love for Duel Monsters. She hopes that they can also help Duke return to his old self. And then there's Seto Kaiba. Dani doesn't exactly get off on the right foot with him, but perhaps he is the one who can change her for the better.

The story begins sometime between the Duelist Kingdom and Dungeon Dice Monster arcs and will go through Battle City. Inspired by the manga storyline that shows "Mr. Clown" (Duke's dad) as the reason why Duke challenges Yugi.

Pairing: Kaiba x OC

A loud knock at the front door echoed throughout the still house. Dani groaned and rolled over, nudging the pile of pillows she believed to be her brother.

"Go answer the door," she mumbled.

When the knocking continued with no answer, Dani shoved the pillows again and realized that she was alone. Grumbling a string of curse words, she crawled over to the door with a blanket still wrapped securely around her. "This better be important," she said, opening the door to reveal a seemingly empty porch. Assuming it was the kids next door playing a practical joke, she stomped outside and began yelling.

"If you little brats think this is a good joke, you're sorely-," she shouted, tripping over a large box that had been placed on the welcome mat. "-mistaken."

But just as the pile of pillows next to her hadn't been Duke, this didn't seem to be a joke either. Ignoring the pain she felt from her scraped elbows, Dani untangled herself from the blanket and brought the box inside. Although she was still angry with the whole situation, she had to admit that the mysterious package piqued her curiosity.

Feeling like a kid on Christmas morning, she eagerly ripped the tape off the box and peered inside. "No way," she murmured, giving a little scream of excitement when she saw a Duel Disk and Battle City invitation inside the box. She was about to tear the Duel Disk out of its packaging, but stopped when she saw an additional envelope at the bottom of the box.

Dani opened the thick cardstock envelope, which bore a golden "KC" logo on the front, expecting to find more detailed instructions regarding the tournament, but was surprised to find a handwritten letter inside:

Dani,

Please accept this Duel Disk as a reward for your surprisingly useful contributions to the Battle City Tournament.

-SK

Each time Dani reread the single sentence, her confused frown deepened into a bitter scowl. She stormed back into the living room and screamed as loud as she could into the nearest pillow. Leave it to Seto Kaiba to take what could've been a simple, nice gesture and turn it into something so...so...belittling, she thought angrily.

Still clutching one of the throw pillows with crushing force, Dani glared at the ground and contemplated how she should respond. She considered taping up the box and sending it right back to the ungrateful jerk to prove that she didn't need his patronizing. And yet, the fact that he would bother to send her anything at all indicated that this might just be his way of acknowledging their friendship.

"I hate him," she mumbled, frustrated and undecided.

"What the hell is going on down here?" Duke asked, peering cautiously into the living room from the safety of the staircase. "I keep hearing slamming doors and screaming."

"Uh...nothing special," she stammered, shoving the letter in between the couch cushions and laughing nervously.

"I'm sure," he replied, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"I'm serious," she protested, picking up the Duel Disk box. "Kaiba just sent me a Duel Disk for the tournament."

"Lucky you," he said, biting into an apple. "I hear those things are pretty pricey."

Dani shrugged. "I mean it's the least he could do for all the hard work I've been putting in."

"Wish I could say the same," he said, sticking his tongue out.

"Don't be rude!" she gasped, tossing a magazine at him. "Anyway...are you going to join the tournament?"

Duke plopped down on the couch, dangerously close to the letter, and laughed. "You're joking right? Duel Monsters isn't really my game of choice."

"How can you say that when Dungeon Dice Monsters is clearly inspired by Duel Monsters?"

"Now who's being rude?" he snapped. "Besides I didn't seem to get a Duel Disk or invitation in the mail."

Dani waved a dismissive hand. "Both of which can be easily resolved. Just leave it to me."

"Not gonna happen," he said firmly. "I don't want you calling in favors on my behalf."

"Who said anything about favors? I may...or may not...have added the Black Clown to the list of businesses selling Duel Disks for the tournament. So all you have to do is go to your own shop and get one," she said sheepishly.

Duke couldn't even get mad about her sudden decision because deep down he knew that that would bring a lot of extra business to the shop. "Right, like I'm going to help Kaiba get any richer than he already is."

"You're so stubborn!" she groaned, reaching under the couch for a coin. "Let's make a deal - if it's heads, you join the tournament."

"Ugh, fine just flip it," Duke begrudgingly agreed, hating the fact that his sister used his gambling interest against him.

They both watched as the coin spun through the air and landed in the palm of Dani's hand. She flipped it over and revealed the coin. "HEADS!" she cheered, slapping a displeased Duke on his back. "Welcome to the tournament, bro."

The city of Domino was hardly recognizable as tournament invitees and their friends filled the streets. While awaiting Kaiba's big tournament commencement, many people killed time at some of the local restaurants and shops, while others stood in the streets, which would be blocked off from all vehicle traffic until the first round of the tournament ended.

Dani loved seeing the city abuzz, but not everyone saw it as a good thing. During one of her shifts in the Kaiba Corp office, she had to help Kaiba sift through tons of emails complaining that this tournament was going to put hardworking people out of business, bring an unsavory crowd to the city, and interrupt teenagers' education.

"So how are we going to split these up?" Dani asked, watching as angry emails continued to flood the inbox.

Kaiba snickered. "'We?' Please...I'm already sick of reading these trivial complaints from people whose business skills are clearly not as advanced as mine. They think the city will fall apart just because they can't drive on the streets for a week - how pathetic."

"I agree that they're being dramatic, but there's like 50 of these emails. It'd be much faster if we just split it up and move on," she reasoned.

"Perhaps, but as CEO of a multi-million dollar company, I actually have a lot of other more pressing responsibilities. You, on the other hand, are a PR rep at your brother's game shop, so it would be more logical for you to handle this."

Dani wasn't ready to let the argument die, but she lost her train of thought when she heard Kaiba mention her other job at the Black Clown. "How do you even know about that?"

"I like to be well-informed," he said nonchalantly, causing Dani to wonder what else he secretly knew about her.

As odd as the exchange had been, it was obvious that she ended up being right when she had assured the 50+ concerned citizens that this event would actually bring more business and benefit to the city.

"We should do this more often," Duke said, gesturing to the city streets. "You know, check out some of these restaurants and shops...a lot has changed since the last time you lived here."

Dani hadn't realized it - but he was right. Half of these buildings either didn't exist a few years ago or they were something else entirely. The city looked better than she ever remembered it looking, and she was glad to call it her home again. "I'm definitely down for that," she grinned slyly. "After I kick your butt in this tournament, of course."

Duke laughed sarcastically. "I think you mean when I kick your butt. I have a reputation to uphold here."

"Oh god, not you too," she muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing...I'm just so sick of hearing about 'titles.' Kaiba's only hosting this tournament so he can have a flashy chance to challenge Yugi for his spot as the number one duelist."

"That dude really needs to get a life," Duke snickered.

"That's what I'm trying to help him do," Dani mumbled, following Duke into a nearby cafe.

With less than two hours until his big tournament announcement, there were plenty of things that Seto Kaiba should've been focusing on. Instead, he found himself browsing the Kaiba Corp HR database to look up whatever information was on file for Dani. His eyes darted between the phone number on the screen and the telephone. He wondered what she thought of the gift he had Roland deliver to her this morning. He wondered if she thought about the last time she used a Duel Disk...when she dueled him…

"What is wrong with me?" he muttered to himself before shutting down the computer and walking over to the wall of windows behind his desk. In the streets so far below him, eager duelists were going to the various shops in town to buy the new Duel Disk. Soon, hundreds of people will fill the blockaded blocks and stare up at him in his helicopter as he commences the tournament.

Everything was falling perfectly into place. Yet even though he was sure that he would get exactly what he wanted out of this tournament, Kaiba felt as hollow as the empty room he was standing in. Before he could consider reviewing Dani's personnel file again, Mokuba burst into the room and turned the lights on. "Why are you just standing in the dark, bro? We've gotta get going. Roland has the 'copter ready on the roof," he said. His previously enthusiastic run came to a confused halt near the desk. "Where's Dani?"

Kaiba frowned. "How should I know?"

"I just figured that she'd be a part of the opening ceremony, since she helped out a lot with the planning," Mokuba shrugged.

"She's already been compensated for her contribution," Kaiba said, a little colder than intended. The last thing he needed right now was a guilt trip from his own brother.

Mokuba shook his head disapprovingly. "But this will be so much cooler than getting a Duel Disk in the mail. It's not every day someone gets to fly around the city in a private helicopter. You know I'm right!"

"It doesn't seem that thrilling to me," Kaiba rebutted, slipping into his trench coat before heading toward the door, not bothering to wait and see if Mokuba was following.

The more they continued discussing the topic, the worst the fluttering feeling of guilt became. He knew that Dani deserved to be a part of this but he was...for lack of a better word...afraid. His solidarity and refusal to rely on others was a large part of how he became the successful person he was today. If he were to abandon his own principles and take a chance on some girl he hardly knew, then there would be a good chance that he'd lose everything he worked so hard to obtain. And Kaiba wasn't sure if that was a risk he was willing to take. I'm sure one helicopter ride wouldn't hurt, he thought, caving just enough to prevent the guilt from metaphorically piling on top of his shoulders.

"Fine, Mokuba, you win," he said, having a difficult time feigning disdain.

Mokuba fist-pumped the air and bolted for the door. He wasn't entirely sure why Kaiba was being so reluctant, but he was more than willing to help him become the carefree, loving brother he used to be. And something told Mokuba that Dani Devlin would be a huge piece of that puzzle.

After about an hour of exploring the new, yet familiar Domino streets and racing over to the Black Clown to get Duke his own Duel Disk, Dani noticed that the crowd of people seemed to double in size. "I wish we knew where the big ceremony was supposed to take place," she sighed. "I want a good seat!"

"It does seem weird that there's no stage or anything set up. There weren't even any banners on the Kaiba Corp building," Duke recalled thoughtfully.

Without any concrete evidence to go on, they continued roaming the streets until they found a few friendly faces. "Yugi!" Dani exclaimed, waving her hands in the air so he could figure out where her voice was coming from within the sea of people. Duke was so caught off guard by the sudden outburst and accompanying sprint forward that he nearly lost her.

Dani came to a sudden halt when she realized, upon getting closer to them, that Yugi and Tea were having what appeared to be a serious conversation before she showed up. "Hey...guys," she said awkwardly, hoping she didn't just barge into something bad.

Tea instinctively shifted into a friendlier facade as she greeted the Devlin twins. Yugi acknowledged them with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. By default, he seemed to have a more serious demeanor - similar to his appearance when he fought Duke - more like the spirit of the puzzle. Duke, oblivious to all that had been going on in that moment, stated the obvious. "So, I take it you guys are here for the big Battle City announcement?"

Yugi nodded. "It is my destiny to win this tournament…apparently."

Duke scoffed. "Not to be rude or anything, but I'm being forced to enter this tournament, too. And I'm sure you noticed that I don't like to lose-."

"Wait, what do you mean 'apparently?'" Dani asked, cutting Duke off. She glanced between Yugi and Tea with a confused expression. "Did something happen before we got here?"

"We just got back from the museum," Tea explained. "There was this woman there...she showed us an artifact from Egypt that gave us a little more information about the spirit of Yugi's puzzle."

"That's awesome! What did you learn?"

"Although I have no memories of my past, I used to be a pharaoh in ancient Egypt who saved the world from destruction. According to Ishizu's prophecy, it's my destiny to fight a similar evil once more during this tournament."

"Hold on...did you just say Ishizu?" Dani asked. "Kaiba had some freaky late night meeting with her at the museum a couple days ago…and he got Obelisk the Tormentor from her."

"Obelisk the what?" Tea asked.

"Obelisk the Tormentor," Dani repeated, suddenly remembering that they wouldn't have any idea what she was talking about. After explaining the new type of monster card, she said, "I guess Ishizu thought he was worthy of having one. I wasn't really impressed when I saw it, but he seemed to take it pretty seriously."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he said thoughtfully. "The artifact that Ishizu showed us depicted myself as a pharaoh battling a powerful sorcerer who seemed to resemble Kaiba. She believes that was the confrontation that threatened to destroy the world. It could be possible that Kaiba and I are destined to duel again in a similarly cataclysmic confrontation...and these god cards you mentioned might have something to do with it."

"I don't doubt that at all," Dani muttered. "But that would imply that Kaiba is the evil that needs to be stopped again...you don't believe that, do you?"

"Only time will tell," he responded solemnly. "I don't think Kaiba is evil, but somehow he does play a role in all this and I will have to face him sooner or later."

As if on cue, Kaiba's face appeared on all the electronic billboards and screens around the city. "Welcome to Battle City!" his pre-recorded message boomed through the streets, earning a cheer from the crowd.

Yugi and the others were listening closely to the instructions, but Dani's gaze drifted toward Yugi. The tournament has only just begun and yet Yugi and Kaiba both have so much invested into it already. They're so determined to meet their goals. What am I dueling for? What's my motivation? Dani wondered, shifting her gaze to her brother. Deep down...I've always wanted to be better than Duke at some game, but that just seems so petty.

What am I really dueling for?

Ever the multi-tasker, Roland scrambled back and forth between checking the progress of the presentation and flying the helicopter. He glanced back at the Kaiba brothers and announced that the recording was almost over. Kaiba, sitting near the window with his arms crossed over his chest, looked down at the shiny city below him and told Roland to fly lower so he could find Yugi in the crowd of amateur duelists.

Fortunately, with Yugi's unique hairstyle, it didn't take long to locate him, even from so far up in the sky. Just as the recording came to an end and the screens all turned white with the Kaiba Corp logo, Roland hovered the helicopter above the block where Yugi was watching. Mokuba tossed a rope ladder down and Kaiba dramatically jumped out onto it. He locked eyes with his rival and noticed something different in Yugi's demeanor. Kaiba could tell that Yugi not only wanted to duel Kaiba as bad as he wanted to duel Yugi, but he was also willing to give it his all. Good, Kaiba thought, smirking. When I take Yugi down, I want it to be the most epic duel in all of Duel Monsters history - with both of us giving it all we've got. Victory will be sweet, but crushing him in this way will make it so much sweeter.

Although many duelists already got their duel disks, Kaiba decided to make another announcement reminding everyone else to buy theirs before the duels begin in full force tomorrow. He enjoyed the rise he was getting out of the crowd, but he remembered his conversation with Mokuba before they left and decided that he really didn't care about all the other losers - not when his rival and...whatever you could call Dani...were standing right before him. He gestured to Roland to lower the helicopter a little more, which caused most of the surrounding people to back up as large gusts of winds from the helicopter's blades blew through the area. Yugi and Dani remained planted in place, as if they knew that Kaiba intended to speak to each of them directly.

"Yugi!" Kaiba shouted. "The next time our paths cross we will have the ultimate duel - you can count on that!"

Yugi didn't share Kaiba's arrogant ambition, but he nodded in response anyway. He wanted to elaborate and mention what he learned about their previous lives in Egypt, but he knew Kaiba wouldn't be able to hear anything over the roaring wind. And he probably wouldn't take it seriously enough.

The helicopter shifted a little more to Yugi's right, allowing the rope ladder to hover just above Dani. Dani followed the rope with her eyes until she made eye contact with Kaiba. "Get this thing out of my face!" she shouted, wondering what he was planning.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Just get on," he shouted back.

Dani laughed nervously and took a step backward. "No way." He's gotta be joking. There's no way I'm climbing up that unstable rope. With my luck I'll end up falling off, she thought, cursing her own clumsiness and fear of heights.

She would've gladly kept backing away from the rope ladder, but she ran out of places to go when she backed into Duke, who was smirking and clearly enjoying the situation. "Isn't this everything you've ever wanted?" he asked. "Your lover boy is inviting you to take a ride on his personal helicopter."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "First of all - not my 'lover boy.' And secondly I've never wanted to ride in a helicopter."

"What's that?" he asked, pretending like he could no longer hear her over the blustery wind. "Help you aboard? You got it, sis." Snickering, he pushed her forward, causing her to grab the rope to catch her balance. Roland took this as a sign that she was ready to be pulled up, so he started flying upward.

Dani shrieked as she held the rope more closely and glared down at her brother. "I hate you!" she shouted.

He shrugged. "Think of this as payback for making business transactions behind my back."

"Are you serious?! You're going to thank me for what I did."

"And so will you," he replied, waving to her as he walked off with Yugi and Tea.

Once the height became too much for her to handle, she closed her eyes and clutched the rope for dear life. She had every intention of staying that way until she heard Kaiba shouting her name with increasing annoyance. She risked an upward glance and saw that he was closer to her now with his hand outstretched. "Unless you plan on riding all the way back to the office on a flimsy rope, I suggest we get back into the helicopter," he said.

Dani, trying to ignore that he called the rope that was preventing her from falling to her death flimsy, extended her hand to reach his and nearly screamed when he hoisted her up the ladder with seemingly little effort. She hardly had time to catch her ragged breath before Mokuba leapt from his seat and nearly tackled her right out the helicopter door.

"H-hey Mokuba," she greeted, nervously pivoting them to a safer distance from the open door.

"Long time no see," he said, grinning up at her. "Aren't you super excited that the tournament has started?"

Having more than her fair share of sight-seeing from a nauseating height, Dani chose the middle seat and was eventually accompanied by a Kaiba brother on either side. "Of course I'm excited!" she laughed. "I'm probably going to be up all night organizing my deck...and teaching Duke how to play."

"Your brother wasn't on the list," Kaiba said, shooting her a skeptical side glance.

"Neither was Joey, but you know he'll find his way to a Duel Disk," Dani snickered, leaving out the fact that she all but forced Duke to enter. "At least he's more willing to be a team-player now, right?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Whatever. As long as there are no more repeats of what happened last week, then it doesn't really matter to me."

"Trust me," Dani replied assuredly. "That will never happen again."

While everyone else was still clustered in the center of the city as the first duels commenced, a lone boat floated into the abandoned dock. Before the boat was fully anchored, a door near the storage compartment opened and a cloaked figure riding a motorcycle flew out onto the dock.

Marik Ishtar wasn't one of the duelists on Kaiba's invitation list, but that hardly mattered. With his Rare Hunters strategically in place and stocked with Duel Disks and powerful decks, he would soon take control of this tournament, obtain the last remaining other god card, and take the pharaoh's power. He smirked as he drove down the abandoned roads just outside of the city limits, knowing full well that everyone else was already preoccupied.

Initially he had planned on cruising around to get a lay of the land, but his intentions changed once his Millenium Rod lit up when he passed through a neighborhood, indicating that another millenium item was nearby. He smirked as he sped up and followed the guidance of his rod, which led him to an alley between a couple of houses. He parked the motorcycle and walked into the alley, where he found a white-haired boy holding a glowing Millenium Ring, which had one of its pendants pointing directly at him.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the holder of the Millenium Rod," Bakura said, remaining in the shadows. He recalled how his ring had reacted the other day when he was near the museum and wondered if this was the item that the ring had detected.

"You sound much more sinister than you appear," Marik observed, though was unshaken.

"What else would you expect from an ancient, vengeful spirit inhabiting a magical Egyptian artifact?" he asked rhetorically.

Marik frowned. "I thought the only spirit in the items was the one in the puzzle."

"You thought wrong," Bakura said, stepping closer as his interest grew. "How exactly is it that you know about the spirit?"

Marik sneered. "I come from a long line of tomb keepers and I know all about the pharaoh and his power."

This piqued Bakura's interest. Someone so well-versed in the ancient past could be very beneficial to him. "Are you here to join the tournament?" he asked.

"Not necessarily. I have my loyal Rare Hunters participating," Marik answered, also believing this partnership to be useful. "They're looking for the missing Egyptian god card while I search for the millenium items. I'm sure you see where I'm going with this."

"You wish to harness the pharaoh's power. It would seem we're on the same page...perhaps if we work together we can accomplish this goal sooner rather than later."

Before he could answer, Marik's phone started ringing. With an annoyed huff, he answered, "What is it, Odion?"

"Master Marik, I believe we found the duelist who possesses the missing god card."

Marik's annoyance gave way to excitement in an instant. "You're sure?" he asked. "Who is it?"

"Dani Devlin - she seems to have ties with Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba."

"How very convenient. Thank you, Odion. I'll take it from here."

Bakura, who had been casually leaning up against the wall, smirked in the darkness. "Good news?"

"Very," Marik said grinning. "I just found out who has the last of the three god cards." He began to walk toward his motorcycle as though the whole conversation with Bakura had never happened.

"But didn't you say that it was your responsibility to find the items? Why don't you let me handle the card? I know this town and the people in it better than you."

Although he preferred to keep Bakura at a distance, Marik had to admit that it would be better to dispatch him to handle this matter. There would be no point in Bakura keeping Obelisk for himself, knowing that Marik was in possession of the other two. "You make a good point," he begrudgingly admitted. "The person who has Obelisk the Tormentor is someone named Dani Devlin."

In the glint of the moonlight, Bakura's smirk twisted in a malicious grin.

Much to Dani's relief, the helicopter ride from the center of the city to Kaiba Corp wasn't a particularly long one. Roland landed on the roof's helicopter pad and followed Mokuba inside. Dani jumped out of the helicopter and kneeled on the roof dramatically shouting, "LAND!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I thought I already told you that your acting skills aren't very good."

"Can't you just leave me alone," she muttered, standing up and dusting the dirt off her pants. When she didn't get a response, she turned around and saw Kaiba standing over by the railing and gazing out at the city. She remained awkwardly standing in place, not sure if she should join him or head inside. "Anyway…," she said, taking a few cautionary steps backward toward the door. "I wish you the best of luck in the tournament and hope that your revenge duel with Yugi is everything you hoped and dreamed it would be."

Kaiba heard the creaking door open and spun around. "Wait," he said softly, almost as if he was still internally arguing over whether or not to act on his feelings.

"What?" she asked, frowning. When she turned around to face him, she saw the faintest flicker of emotion on his face. What the hell is going on with him? She wondered.

"I just...I wanted to say thanks for your help with everything. As you know, I don't usually see any benefit in letting others do a job that I am more than capable of doing, but having you around this last week has been unusually...pleasant."

"Wait a minute," she smirked. "Are you saying you actually enjoy my company?"

"So what if I am?" he asked, taking a step forward and closing the space between them. He noticed her cockiness vanish the moment he came just a little too close for her comfort.

Suddenly Dani found it difficult to form words as she stared up into his surprisingly expressive blue eyes, so different from the usual glacial stare he gave. Her heart thudded against her rib cage as he lowered his head and cupped her face in his hands. Neither one of them seemed to require an answer to his rhetorical question as he pressed his lips against hers.

Once overcoming the pure shock of the whole incident, Dani snapped to attention and instinctively slipped her arms beneath his trenchcoat and wrapped them around his slim, but muscular torso. The kiss lasted for a few more minutes before they parted to take a breath, though still remained inches apart.

His crystalline eyes pierced her own emerald ones as they silently agreed to continue, locking lips once more while their tongues battled for dominance. Kaiba's fingers trailed down to her neck as they stumbled backward into a nearby wall. Mid-makeout session, Dani peeked one eye open and saw yet another side of Kaiba. In that moment, even with his eyes closed, she could see so much expression...desire...a yearning for interaction with another human being. A blush quickly spread across her cheeks when she realized that after all this time and bitterness, Kaiba chose her. She was worth opening up to after so many years of solitude and hardship.

Dani nearly stumbled down the stairs in front of the Kaiba Corp building as she strolled out with a goofy smile on her face and a leaping sensation in her chest. Although the whole interaction couldn't have been more than ten minutes long, it was a feeling and a moment that she kept reliving as she moved robotically down the streets she was starting to know so well.

With the streets still blocked from traffic, Dani figured it was perfectly safe to continue walking while lost in her reverie. Unfortunately, she didn't suspect that any of the handful of duelists still out and about would cause her any trouble.

"Someone looks like they've had a pleasant evening," a hauntingly familiar voice cooed from the shadows of a nearby alley.

Dani froze in her tracks, feeling dizzy as she suddenly came crashing back to reality. I-is that Bakura? She thought, not sure if she should confront him or make a run for it. She remembered the stunt he pulled at the Black Clown and realized that it would probably be best to see what he wanted. She feared that if she pissed him off...she'd end up going wherever he banished her father's dark side.

She laughed flatly, glancing over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of his white hair in the darkness. "Not like it's really any of your business, but yeah, I am having a pretty good night."

He stepped forward, almost reaching the edge of the alley. She noticed the golden reflection of his millenium item. "And if I were to wager a guess, I'd say it has nothing to do with this rather exciting tournament, but rather with the tournament host. Am I correct?"

Dani blushed and turned away quickly so he couldn't see. "Again...none of your business."

"Perhaps you're right," he agreed. "What about Obelisk the Tormentor? As I'm sure you've gathered since your recent talks with Yugi and the spirit of the pharaoh, I too am from ancient Egypt. Those god cards don't belong in this world...Pegasus was a fool for creating them. Why don't you just give it to me for safe keeping and-."

Dani's laugh cut him off. "What the hell are you talking about? Is that some new card?"

Bakura's calm and collected demeanor twisted into something much more sinister as he reached out and pulled Dani into the alley with impressive bouts of strength. He threw her against the rough brick wall and held her shoulders so she couldn't get away. "Don't play dumb with me, girl."

Her body quaked with fear as she stared back at him with wide eyes, wondering what she should do. Clearly this guy has a temper, and we all already know I'm a crappy liar...and a bad actress, according to Kaiba. She felt a brief moment of calmness as he came to mind, but she was torn away from those pleasant thoughts when Bakura shook her. "Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Alright, fine," she conceded, trying to squirm out of his grip. "I know about the card, but I don't have it."

Bakura's grip loosened, but didn't completely disappear, since he didn't get the answer he wanted. He frowned as he stared down at her, wondering if she was being honest. Marik seemed so sure that this was the duelist who had the missing god card. He decided to play along and assume she was telling the truth. "Oh really? Then who has it? I know for a fact you were talking about it earlier this evening."

Fueled with anger, Dani finally broke free from his grip and shoulder-checked him as she walked past him. "You creep!" she shouted. "You were spying on me?"

"Not me personally, but an associate of mine," he said, not bothering to deal with the details. "So stop beating around the bush. Who has Obelisk the Tormentor? Is it your new boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" she retorted, out of habit, but then realized that he might actually be her boyfriend soon.

"So he does have it," Bakura smirked. "That would make much more sense."

Dani had enough of this bizarre and borderline dangerous interaction and had begun walking toward the safety of the open street, but froze when she heard the second half of his statement. Long locks of raven hair viciously whipped the air as she spun around and asked, "What is that supposed to mean? I could duel with that card just as well as Kaiba could!"

"Care to prove it?" he offered, pulling his deck out of his pocket.

Dani bit her lower lip wondering if it was worth the risk. After all, if she lost the duel, she'd have to give up her rarest card. If she intended to make it to the finals and prove herself as a duelist, she probably shouldn't risk participating in unnecessary duels. "I'll take a raincheck," she said, continuing to walk forward. "I can't prove anything without the card."

"I'm afraid I'd rather not wait," he called after her. "You see...if you don't duel me tonight, I might be inclined to release your father's dark half from the Shadow Realm to discipline his children."

The horrible possibility of seeing that mad man again caused Dani to shiver. She slowly turned around and stared at him with fearful eyes. "Please don't do that," she said softly, her choked words barely a whisper, but Bakura heard her loud and clear.

"Excellent!" he grinned. "I thought you might see things my way. Now - let's duel."

Reluctantly, Dani shuffled her deck and put the cards into her duel disk with shaky hands. "I just don't understand...you know I don't have the card, so why bother dueling me?"

Bakura shrugged and lifted up his Millenium Ring. "Isn't it obvious? You're going to be the bait that lures Seto Kaiba to me."

Dani frowned. "Bait?" she repeated. "I doubt he's going to care if he sees that I'm in a duel."

"I think he'll care very much when he realizes what kind of duel this is going to be," Bakura explained, looking at her with a wicked grin as purple clouds of smoke spilled from the center of his ring. "Welcome to your first shadow game, Dani Devlin."

Kaiba was thankful that the building was essentially abandoned by the time he went back inside. Roland had probably driven Mokuba home for the evening, and every other average employee's shift had already ended. Solitude and silence were two things that Kaiba enjoyed very much, but was especially ecstatic about in that moment - it gave him ample opportunity to dissect what just happened on the roof.

I kissed her, he thought, slowly lowering himself into his desk chair. There's no turning back from this now...from this moment forward I have to acknowledge that the dynamic between us has changed. Even if this goes against every standard I've set for myself…

The more he thought it over, the more anxious he felt. Anxiety was yet another foreign feeling for him and he wasn't entirely sure how to respond to it. Regardless of what happened on the roof or how he felt about it, one thing remained true: he refused to let any of this cloud his judgement or interfere with his plans for the tournament. As such, he logged onto his computer and observed the stats from the first few duels to keep his mind occupied.

He quickly scrolled through the data, uninterested in most of the names, until he found a familiar one - Joey Wheeler. He slammed his fist on the desk and seethed, "Wheeler! How did that ameateaur weasel his way into my tournament already?" Of course, with a friend like Yugi, Kaiba knew it would only be a matter of time before Joey would get his hands on a duel disk, but he didn't think it would happen this fast.

Just as Kaiba would've expected, Joey lost the duel, which caused him to snicker. "I warned him...this is going to be nothing like that joke of a tournament at Duelist Kingdom."

Now, with a more rejuvenated spirit, Kaiba continued browsing the duel results with a greater interest. A handful of rejects from Pegasus' tournament stood out - Mai Valentine, Weevil Underwood, Rex Raptor, Mako Tsunami - but for the most part it was a bland list.

Just as he was about to call it a night, something strange happened. He could've sworn that he saw Dani's name appear on the list with Bakura as her opponent - but it vanished suddenly.

I'm probably just seeing things. Of course I'd think her name was there...she's been on my mind far too frequently lately, he thought, trying to reason his way out of caring. And yet, as he stood there with his briefcase in hand, he couldn't bring himself to call for a ride home. Deep down, he knew...

Something must be wrong.

A/N: What an exciting way for the tournament to begin lol in the next chapter Dani will duel Bakura in a shadow game that could have very dangerous consequences. Will Kaiba be able to come to her rescue or will Dani have to fight this battle on her own?

Comments/reviews/thoughts = love

I know I'm usually terrible with setting deadlines for my updates, but I'm really going to try to get chapter 18 posted by the end of May :)