This oneshot is the one I promised several months ago to the people waiting for Ch. 4 of The One Friend of Seto Kaiba, but they never got. Sorry, but, like chapters 4 and 5 of TOFOSK, this story just did not want to be written. I'm publishing it now because, one, starting in on another full chapter in either one of my existing fics would be insane at the moment, especially since I had this overwhelming urge to publish something today, two, I'm never going to be truly happy with this oneshot, so I might as well clean it up as best as I can and get it off my conscience and out of my thumbdrive, and, three, I still feel so bad about leaving all of those people waiting for Ch. 4, so this is my apology to them. I hope it's acceptable and that you all enjoy it.

(Again, I'd like to thank the avoidance of homework as the catalyst for my finishing this oneshot.)

Forgive me if I incorrectly portray the game of Duel Monsters. I'm basing it mostly off what I've seen in the anime.

Seto couldn't remember ever taking this much… enjoyment from a duel before. He didn't even know his opponent that well. All that he knew was from what the files at Kaiba Corp. had on her, which was mostly dueling statistics. She was good, rarely losing, and always carrying a certain amount of awe around with her. A lot of that awe came from her appearance. Frankly, that was one of the reasons Seto thought he was taking so much pleasure from this. She was gorgeous, there was no doubt about that, but Seto saw an extra aspect of her looks that he was sure only he could appreciate to its fullest.

Her eyes were the same color as his, cobalt blue, and her hair and skin were perfectly snow white. She closely resembled, in Seto's eyes, the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons that he currently had on the field, as well as the one he held in his hand.

Seto, at 1300 LP, had his two Blue-Eyes and one facedown card in play, while his opponent, at 400 LP, had only Luster Dragon #2 and Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon, both in Defense mode to protect her. It had been an exceptionally challenging duel so far, not to mention a lengthy and silent one. It had begun two hours ago, at five o'clock as the sun was setting, with several bystanders. But, the combination of lack of derogatory bantering that was usually present during duels, and the time that it was taking left only a couple of unknown spectators watching from the shadows made by the buildings in the alleyway where the duel was taking place.

Kaiba had once again commandeered the city of Domino as the setting for another of his company's epic dueling tournaments. Battle City was nothing but a paltry game on which a few duelists had been invited to cut their teeth on in comparison to this. Kaiba Corporation's Tantamount Gladiator Dueling Title Fight, or Battle City 2, as it was affectionately called by the participants and Kaiba himself instead of its longer, official name, was a true challenge with even higher stakes and more involvement from the competitors. The winner of each duel decided whether their opponent was worthy enough to continue in the tournament, and move to the next of the levels that the tournament was using. Kaiba was already on Level 9 of the ten that needed to be completed to reach the finals, and he hadn't allowed any of the nine people he'd dueled to advance; they'd all been pathetic and undeserving to keep going in his Battle City 2. Joey Wheeler had been one of those nine who'd crossed his path, and he'd taken immense joy in refusing to allow him to keep on going in the contest, despite the protests and threats of the mutt's friends. But, truly the best part had been aggravating Yugi Moto, and getting the promise of a good duel with him when they reached the finals, since they both knew they would. But, Seto was beginning to wonder if that would really be his best duel of the tournament when he had had such an amazing run with this one.

Now, though, it was his turn, and it was time to end this duel. He drew one of the few remaining cards in his deck after the long duel. Polymerization, the exact card he needed. Actually, he didn't need it at all. Just using his facedown card and one of his dragons would wipe her out, and then some. But, to stroke his ego and showoff a bit in front of the beautiful duelist, he'd decided to finish her off in style.

"I reveal my facedown magic card, Soul Exchange," he waved his arm in front of him to trigger the card. "And, I sacrifice your two monsters to bring my third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field." As her monsters disintegrated and his beast materialized, his opposition had a small, accepting smile on her lips, as if she knew what was about to happen. "Now, I activate Polymerization!" Seto added in conclusion, sliding the card into his Duel Disk.

The effect of his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon appearing through the capabilities of his advanced holographic systems was a burst of strong wind bombarding everyone in and passing by the alley. Seto's clothes were made up of snug-fitting pants and turtleneck, with a trench coat and sturdy boots as accents, all in black and without many of the usual embellishments from before, since he'd recently given more into his less ostentatious, darker side. As the fast-moving air rushed past and against him, strong enough to knock him down, he was forced to plant his boot-clad feet in a stance that would help keep him standing against the short-lived gales. His trench coat blew out behind him like dark wings, making it seem like he was just waiting to use the wind to take flight into the night sky.

Seto felt exhilaration pulsing through him, encouraging him to take wing…

If only he could…

The appearance of his Ultimate creature furthered that exhilaration. In all the duels so far, and even the duels before the start of Battle City 2, they'd been so easily won and so short that he hadn't any need of any of his favorite dragons, much less the three combined. It had all been so pathetically simple! This duel had been what had finally broken him out of the monotony that his dueling had become… as well as the rest of his existence. Finally having a true challenge that he was about to conquer had brought some animation back to his life, if only for this brief moment with this person whom he'd most likely never see again after this tournament was over.

With a fiery glint burning in his eyes for the first time in what seemed like ever, Seto Kaiba, swinging his arm to point directly at his opponent and adopting his arrogant, feet-spread, hips-forward, shoulders back posture, gave the final order to attack. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack her life-points directly!" he shouted.

His combatant's knowing smile grew at his command, recognizing that this was the final stage of a marvelous, demanding duel that they'd both taken great pleasure in.

As his dragon's blast enveloped her in a giant stream of electrically-charged light, Seto felt his excitement peak as, in a true blaze of glory, this specific challenge was overcome.

But, as her life-points dropped to zero and the hologram dissipated, Seto's thrill at the duel also began to fade.

The few people who'd stayed to watch the final outcome of the duel muttered congratulations and condolences from the dimly-lit sidelines before disappearing themselves into the night until only Kaiba and the loser were left. Neither had moved after the duel had ended; they were both in the exact spaces and poses as they had been, the streetlights at either end of the alley barely illuminating them, their eyes fixed on each other never-the-less. Eventually, Seto slowly lowered his arm and took a more practical stance, but he still said nothing.

She was the one who finally ended the silent, non-confrontational stand-off with a slight bow of her head, and modest chortle. "I think that's the most I've ever enjoyed being beaten, Kaiba," she admitted with a friendly smirk twinkling in her blue eyes and playing around her pale pink lips.

Seto shifted his weight slightly, lips twitching only a little. He'd almost immediately come down from his dueling high, and wasn't feeling all too friendly… but, that didn't mean he didn't still feel a shadow of respect for his dueling partner. "You're not the worst duelist I've faced, Kisara."

This time, Kisara actually threw her head back and let out a tinkling laugh. Her hair trailed and skated across her face, tips swirling around her thighs and knees. "What a wonderfully gracious and praising compliment, Kaiba! But, then again, you are known for your cordiality and courtesy," she teased, looking at him with eyes narrowed in merriment. Oddly enough, Seto didn't take immediate offense at her laughing at his manners. But, he didn't think she was funny, either.

He gave no response.

There was very little that Kaiba responded to these days, besides his little brother. He'd lost his fervor for… everything. Kaiba Corporation was the best of the best, there was no more need for the strategic planning and outmaneuvering of other companies that Kaiba excelled at and reveled in. His dueling, even after all these years, was still at its peak, except for the continuing losses to Yugi, both of which combined to make the game… tedious.

He was only twenty-two and he was already having a mid-life crisis. He no longer really cared about his job, handing many of the aspects over to lowly flunkies, which was why the tournament had ended up with such an atrocity of a name (the only reason the actual tournament itself wasn't a complete failure was because he'd started planning Battle City 2 in his spare time while the first one had still been going on). And, all that he'd been interested in, like dueling, held no interest for him any longer since there was no longer any challenge involved; everything was already mastered. His life was repetitive and dull.

The main reason for this tournament was that Kaiba was trying to jump-start his life back to the whirlwind of energy and powerful face-offs it had been. Mokuba had been in full support of this, worried about his brother's well-being. Even though he had acted like a cold, passionless person much of the time, there had still been a vigor and zeal for life that had shown through to those who had bothered enough to really look; that was mostly gone now, and Mokuba had been the first to notice, even before Seto, that it was going.

So, Mokuba had reminded his older brother of the plans for Battle City 2, and encouraged him to update them a bit and go through with them. Then, to add to the fun, Mokuba had said he'd join the tournament himself if Seto set it up. That had been what finally pushed Seto over the edge: having his brother dueling with him. They'd actually Double-Dueled together against Mai Valentine and her unknown partner earlier in the tournament, beating them with plenty of life-points to spare. Seto had been impressed by how well his seventeen-year-old brother dueled. Mokuba was well on his way to completing the ten levels needed to advance to the finals, where he and Seto had decided they'd duel against each other, if just to give the public something to buzz about. There was nothing like a good brother vs. brother scandal to get the crowds all riled up.

But, with the two duels that Seto was looking forward to most waiting for him in the finals, the ten duels needed to actually get him there had exacerbated his view of life being futile. Only this duel had engrossed him, but it was over now too, and though that meant he would be moving on to the finals, it indicated that once the finals, and Battle City 2 itself, was over, he'd slip back into his slump as easily as if he'd never left.

And, if that didn't just piss him off.

He was so sick of himself! He hated whiners, he hated people who weren't able to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and, therefore, he hated himself. In his mind, he'd always been too strong to sink to any level of depression, and yet that was what he had done. He felt like he was missing out on something bigger and better by continuing to do what he'd always done. But, because it was what he'd always done, he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't figure out a way to capture the passion that, though hidden, had always driven him forward to all his goals. He had no goals now.

He had no passion.

When Kisara walked over to Seto, who was unaware of her approach, she saw not only an expression of anger and frustration on his downturned face, but also one of panic. He felt as the frigid mask he'd kept over his true, vigorous emotions, over his real self, had suffocated them and him in the process.

He couldn't breathe.

"Hey, you know, you're completely wasting my gift," Kisara told him out of the blue, leaving about a yard between them.

He pulled his head up, showing her an unimpeded view of his now incredulous and ticked facial expressions. "What?" he demanded, almost growling.

"My gift," she repeated. "You're wasting it. You aren't living, you aren't enjoying your life: you're wasting it." She wasn't meeting his eyes, just focusing on tugging one of nine silver rings off her ring finger. The rings were the symbols of completed duels. Every duelist had started off with one, and they worked their way up from there, taking another each time they defeated an opponent that they didn't allow to remain in the tournament. Kisara had been busy to get almost all ten rings when there were still two days left in the five-day competition.

She succeeded in getting it off, and she held it out to him. "Here, another gift." She dropped it into the palm he'd outstretched.

"I don't even know the first gift you gave me," Seto stated, slipping the ring onto his own ring finger, the only finger left without a ring on it.

"Which is probably why you're wasting it," Kisara concluded with a bob of her head. Though her tone remained light throughout their exchange, there was sadness and a fair amount of anger hidden in the deep pools of her eyes.

"You'll be wanting this card as a gift, too, I suppose," she said, her voice somewhat stiffer. She took a card from her hand, the same hand she'd had for her final move in the duel, and extended it to him.

"I won it, Kisara. There's no "gift" being exchanged here. And, if you didn't want to forfeit you favorite card, maybe you shouldn't have joined this tournament," he snapped. That was one of the characteristics of Battle City Two that made it so much more than the first Battle City: instead of your rarest card being up for grabs, it was the duelist's favorite that could be lost. This also helped to weed out the duelists who weren't as dedicated to the game, because they would not see Battle City 2 as being worth their time without the possibility of gathering rare cards. And, even with those duelists gone and the number of competitors being thinned out, the tournament was all the better for it with only the most committed and devoted duelists giving their all to stay in the game and keep their favorite card. The duels had meaning behind them, something that the mass production of Duel Monsters had almost taken completely away.

"Can I ask you to do something, Kaiba?" Kisara queried, seeming to give into something.

"You can ask," Seto returned warily. He reached out to grab the card, but when he tried to tug it away, Kisara kept hold of it.

"I suppose I'm going to ask two things of you." She closed her eyes and sighed, momentarily tightening her grip on the card. "Don't look at this card until I'm gone, and…" She opened her eyes and looked at Seto, pouring her heart into her gaze. "… and, know that this card shows that there are second chances for everything."

She let go of the card.

Seto wanted to laugh at her and remind her that, when it all came down to it, it was just a card game, but the look she was giving him stopped anything he might do of the kind.

She kept the look up for a little time more, before suddenly taking a step forward, rising to her tiptoes, and barely giving him a brushing kiss on the lips. Seto hardly had enough time to register the feeling of it before Kisara was turned on her heel and dashing away from him, down the alley. For a split second, the unbuttoned white coat she was wearing flared out behind her, and Seto's image blurred, almost as if another was being imposed on it. Before he could define what the second image had been, Kisara flew around the corner, away from him.

Seto stood alone in the alley, staring in shock and confusion, not understanding what had just happened.

Did she just kiss me? It wasn't his first kiss, but… it seemed to have more weight to it than any first kiss ever could have.

Seto looked down at the card he was still holding, facedown as was requested. He didn't understand how just one card could mean so much, even when that was the premise behind Battle City 2. Either Kisara had been a nutcase, or this card really was that special.

It has to be moderately special, Seto thought as he noticed the silvery thread of a line that indicated that the card had once been torn, but then remade using Industrial Illusions' official Duel Monsters card repairing technology. It was an expensive fix that only the rarest and most loved cards ever were submitted for.

What could this card be?

Seto turned it over…

And, understood what Kisara had meant by second chances. Though, how she'd even gotten her hands on this card was beyond him with the opposition that had been shown to him when he'd attempted to obtain it.

The fourth and final Blue-Eyes was staring up at him, as whole as it ever was, with naught but the slight silver line cutting though the great beast's shoulders to show it had ever been damaged. There was nothing Kaiba would ever admit to regretting, but that didn't mean he did not, in fact, regret some of the things he'd done. Tearing up this card had been one of those things. It had been the tipping point where he'd purposely destroyed something that he'd loved simply to get ahead.

Seto stared at the card for some time… only to come to the conclusion that he had to rip it up again. He didn't want to, but to have the card used against him would be a pain even worse than destroying it himself. And, there was no one else on earth who would ever revere the card the way he did. No one else deserved this card, and, with Seto already having the three, it was impossible to take this one in as well.

As Seto turned the card and braced himself to rip it in half, again, and then leave it where no one could find or save it again, a stabbing pain raced through his temples, almost causing him to bear down to his knees and shout out in pain. He was just barely able to hold himself up and remain silent.

Scenes and images once again flashed in front of his eyes, and as each one did, the words 'second chance' sounded in his ears.

… His tearing up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon years ago… Second chance…

… Kisara dressed in rags and lying unconscious on the ground, surrounded by the stones that had been hurled at her by ignorant villagers… Second chance…

… His taking his first step into darkness when he'd threatened the president of the company he'd invested in when he'd been fourteen… Second chance…

… Kisara, eyes begging for help, looking back at him as she was forced into the middle of a fight, her body bound with the silk of a live Duel Monster… Second chance…

… His little brother looking up at him when they were kids, as if Seto was a god who could do nothing wrong… Second chance…

So many images, of regrets he had now and ones from a life he didn't remember, flashed before his eyes that they all began to blur together…

… Second chance…

… Second chance…

… until one final image resonated deep in his mind, heart, and soul, evicting a deep longing and sense of loss from each of them.

… Kisara, falling back, landing in his arms, and dying there… Second chance…

The sudden return to reality felt like one of those dreams where you think you're about to fall out of your bed, and you brace for it, only to find you're firmly settled in the center of the mattress.

Seto, breathing heavily and harshly, put a hand to his chest, right over his heart. In that hand he'd been holding the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, and it was pressed flush between his hand and his sternum.

Through the card, Seto felt his heartbeat.

All the emotions spurred by the images had Seto in a dizzying high that he was desperately clinging to. Almost tearing up the card had almost been like a brush with death, making Seto more aware of life… like a second chance.

Seto pulled himself together, not too much: he had to keep a hold of his high. He began walking down the alleyway in the same direction Kisara had gone. Walking into the illuminated streets, he saw the sidewalks were fairly full of people walking about downtown Domino, and, by the sounds of it and the size of the crowd down the street, a duel was taking place nearby. But, Kisara was long gone.

Seto pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial.

"Greetings, sir!" Roland practically shouted. "Congratulations on winning your final duel, sir!" Seto made a mumbling sound. "Oh! And, Mokuba also has reached Level 10, and, well, frankly, is waiting to rub it in your face that he got ten rings before you did, sir," Roland guiltily admitted. Seto actually smiled a little at that… He hadn't smiled in so long.

"Roland," he said, calling the personal assistant to attention.

"Yes, sir!"

"I need you to find two people for me using the Duel Disks' tracking systems. The first is Kisara—"

"The duelist you just beat, sir?" Roland interrupted.

Seto gritting his teeth could be heard over the line. He must have gotten lax in his disciplinary actions while he'd been… out of it for Roland to interrupt him.

"F-forgive me, sir," Roland quickly apologized.

"Yes, Roland, the woman I just dueled. After you find her, find me any pathetic duelist that still doesn't have ten rings. Make that two duelists, actually."

"Yes, sir! … Kisara, it would seem, is heading West on Trade Street, sir, seemingly on a straight path to the subway station, four blocks away from her current location."

"That's all I needed, Roland."

"Right… Um, welcome back, sir," Roland hastily muttered. Seto froze for a moment. For even his employees to notice…

"Remember your place, Roland," Seto said, not gently, but not unkindly.

"Of course, yes, sir. But, is it alright if I inform Moku—?"

Seto hung up. He knew that whether Roland told Mokuba or not of his sudden "reappearance," or whatever it was, Mokuba wouldn't believe it till he saw the light back in Seto's eyes for himself. Gods, Seto loved that kid. He couldn't think of a better little brother, or just a better brother, period… He'd missed him, and it had been his own damn fault. He was looking forward to seeing him again, really seeing him.

Seto picked up the pace of his walk, and kept quickening it until he was in a full-out sprint, racing to get to Kisara before she boarded a subway train and sped away. He could find her again with the tracking devices planted in all Kaiba Corp. Duel Disks, but, if he waited for a more opportune time, he might waste whatever it was that was coursing through him, urging him to find Kisara and do what he knew he needed to do…

… When Kisara was half a block away from the subway station, she felt a hand fall gently on her shoulder, stopping her. Later, Seto would wonder if she'd known who it was before she'd turned around, merely by touch or a sense even more sensitive than that. When she turned to face him, there was no fear or confusion in her eyes, just a barely stifled hope that was dying to be realized.

Trailing his hand down her arm, Seto picked up her left hand, and slipped the ring she'd handed over to him back onto her ring finger.

Now, there was confusion in her eyes. Before she could ask why, Seto answered, "Because I'm giving this a second chance."

Kisara stared for a moment, then, tears began running down her cheeks. Taking his hand from hers, he cupped her cheek and rubbed the tears away with his thumb. "This gets a second chance, too." He held up the mended Blue-Eyes White Dragon card for her to take.

"But…"

"You could have used it against me in your last move. But, you didn't." He reached his other hand up to cup her face. "Thank you. And, if you don't mind, there's one more thing I'd like to give a second chance."

Eyes glinting, Seto bent his head, and placed his lips against hers. The stood in the middle of the sidewalk, people walking past them to either side, his palms cupping her cheeks, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck, kissing.

When they finally pulled away, Kisara's tears had stopped, and the glint in Seto's eyes had turned into a darkly burning flame.

"Come on," he said tugging her hand back the way they'd come. "I know where there are a couple of duelists who are begging to be ground into the dust on our way to the finals."

Kisara laughed, allowing herself to be tugged along after him, and teased, "But, Seto, what if they beat us? And, you, demolished at your own tournament? What a scandal!"

Seto aggressively chuckled, thinking that he could get used to her sarcastic sense of humor, and said, "They don't have a chance."

Thank you all for reading!

In my mind, I've always seen Kaiba becoming burnt-out on life should nothing change with his outlook and his character, so this fic is my way of making sure that things turned out alright for him. At one point, I'd thought of just cutting it off where Kisara walks (runs) away, leaving Seto with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, but my heart screamed "No!" and demanded that I make it a happy ending. I'm such a romantic fool.

I realize that to some people, Seto using Mokuba to take down Gozaburo would be considered the tipping point I mentioned, but, the way I see it, even if it was for the wrong reasons, Seto did what he did then to help both Mokuba and himself get out from under their adoptive father. While, with the card, that was mostly out of spite and did nothing to benefit anyone, even himself.

As I mentioned before, this was supposed to be posted months ago, but nothing seemed right for a long time, and nothing really worked out for the best with this fic. It's an immense, utterly liberating relief to finally post it, and it didn't turn out as horrible as I thought. I hope it's a nice apology gift for those kept waiting with my other fic.

Let me know what you think!