A/N I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh and whatnot.

A/N Sorry I took so long to post... My interest is beginning to wan once more. Although, a few reviews could help me to regain interest.

By the time Yugi and Jamie arrived at the park, Joey, Tristan, Tea, Atemu, and Safiya had already gathered and were discussing various dueling strategies.

"Hey guys, I hope we didn't keep you long," Yugi shouted as he neared them. He quickly let go of Jamie's hand and ran toward the others, leaving her behind. "Guys," he whispered as he approached the gathering. "This needs to be a good duel. I want to impress Jamie."

"Well, the only one here who's a worthy opponent for the great King of Games is the great King of Games himself," Tristan exclaimed, motioning toward Atemu.

Jamie walked up beside Yugi and placed her hand on his elbow. "So who here is going to be dueling?"

Atemu smiled a sinister-looking grin towards his reincarnation. "What do you say, dear Yugi. Are you ready for the duel of your life?"

"You're on," he replied with fire in his eyes.

Atemu pulled Yugi aside as the others settled in to watch what would definitely be a good duel. "I just want you to know, Yugi, that I want to win this duel for the same reasons you do. When I was Pharaoh, Safiya would watch me engage in the Shadow Games, cheering me on to the point where she would lose her voice. Other than one or two that I played against her, she's never seen me lose a game, and I don't intend to lose today."

"That's great, Pharaoh… But, let's focus on me for a minute here. And since you asked, Jamie and I are officially dating, and I can't let her down."

Atemu gave Yugi a puzzled look. "But I didn't ask—"

Completely unfazed, Yugi continued his thought. "And I don't want her first dueling memory to be that of my loss. That would be a shame. After all, I am the King of Games." He grinned, the shocked look on Atemu's face making it perfectly clear that Yugi had been successful in ruffling the Pharaoh's feathers.

"You fool, that title is mine. You only have it because I had it first."

"What's wrong Pharaoh? Can't take the heat?" He mocked in good humor.

Atemu took a deep breath, and figuratively smoothed his ruffled feathers. He reached out and shook Yugi's hand good-naturedly as he replied, "We shall see. Let's duel!"

As the duel got underway, a sleek black limousine made its way toward the park. Seto Kaiba, owner and CEO of Kaiba Corp. was roaming the streets, looking for an easy target on which to release some pent-up stress. Through the tinted windows of his limousine, he noticed a small gathering witnessing what appeared to be a heated duel. He recognized Yugi and the Pharaoh, Joey, Tristan, and Tea, but there were two others that he did not recognize. They were both young women, and they looked as though they could be twins. The one with white hair stood directly next to the Pharaoh, and the brunette stood next to Yugi.

"Stevens, pull over here. I want to say hello to some friends." A grin crept across his face. Kaiba enjoyed harassing the group and did so every chance he got. He would never admit it, but the ties of friendship among the tight-knit group made him a bit jealous. Sometimes he even felt somewhat protective of their well-being, but Atemu was the only one who sensed this, and he guarded the secret well.

When the limousine pulled over, Kaiba stepped out, the wind catching his dazzling white trench coat, making him appear more intimidating than he already was. He stood for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight, the breeze playing with his hair. He was not much older than Yugi and his friends, but life had forced him to become cold as steel, a force to be reckoned with.

Safiya heard the vehicle approach and her heart stopped when she saw the man who exited it. She moved closer to Atemu's side, a slight tremor rippling through her body. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Atemu, what is Seth doing here?"

Feeling the tremor, Atemu wrapped his arm around her and tried to comfort her. "That is Seto Kaiba," he whispered in return. "Seth's spirit is within him, but he refuses it. Don't do anything to upset that balance."

Kaiba strode purposefully up to Yugi and the small crowd stood as he approached. They formed a small semi-circle with Tristan at the far left, then Joey, Tea, Yugi, Jamie, Atemu, and finally Safiya on the far right. "Good afternoon, Tristan, Joey, Tea, Yugi, and Pharaoh." He spun and looked each in the eye as he greeted them. "And who are you two lovely ladies? Aren't you going to introduce us, Pharaoh?" He focused in on Safiya.

For the second time in his existence, Atemu decided to withhold Safiya's identity with the hopes of staving off the suppressed Seth's hatred. And when he made no move to introduce Safiya, Kaiba reached for her hand and raised it to his lips. "My name is—" He began, but before he could introduce himself, she quickly pulled her hand back and stepped behind Atemu. Kaiba straightened up and brushed off his jacket, his cold blue eyes reflecting his discontent. "Well, that was rude."

A small voice perked up behind the man. "Kaiba, please excuse my friends. They're new here."

He did not move. "Stay out of this Yugi. This does not concern you." He spoke with such authority that Yugi dared not interrupt again, but Joey and Tristan did. The two of them moved to stand between Kaiba and Jamie, Atemu, and Safiya.

Tristan spoke first. "Kaiba, back off. Don't you have other things to do like meetings to attend or businesses to run?"

Joey echoed Tristan. "Yea, step down Kaiba. Leave these guys alone."
Kaiba laughed. "I can always leave it up to you fools to bring me a good laugh." He put up his hands in mock surrender. "All I wanted were the names of these lovely ladies, this one in particular," he said, looking at Safiya. "Is that so bad?"

Atemu spoke up in the background. "Her name is unimportant." Joey and Tristan looked back to Atemu and noticed that he was stepping forward. They glanced at each other, then returned to their original positions at the far left of the semi-circle.

Kaiba was about to retaliate with sarcasm and harsh words, but something stopped him. "Why do I feel as though I've heard that before?" He appeared to become weak in the knees and he leaned against a nearby tree for support. Within seconds, he collapsed to the ground. Yugi ran to his side to see if he was okay. But before he could get far, a quick burst of green light surrounded Kaiba and something within the man changed.

A/N And here, my dear readers, is where the plot thickens, or, begins to exist. I'm terribly sorry I took so long to introduce a plot to this story, but I was having so much fun with my characters that I kept adding little scenes in which they interacted in different ways. Leave me some encouraging love if you feel so inclined.