Chapter 1 - Valentine's Day

Airin Wolf smiled as she shuffled through her deck. The previous night she’d stayed up until three to ready her deck properly. She checked for her special combo of cards….
… Red-Eyes… Flute of Summoning Dragon… Lord of D….

“AIRIN!” she heard three voices call her name, interrupting her train of thought.
Turning around, she was confronted by three of her best friends. The young girl pocketed her deck. When she had moved to Domino a year ago, she had met them during the final stages of the Battle City elimination rounds. She hadn’t taken part of that tournament, but she knew who would win. Even in her small hometown, Yugi Mouto was known as the King of Games. And now, with the newest Championships tournament, she was ready to take her love for the game to the big league.
Ryou, Duke and Yami Yugi stood in front of her, grinning widely with their hands behind their backs. She still couldn’t figure out how the three of them managed to be friends –being so different in personalities- but she loved them anyway. “Hey, guys! Ready for the Championships?” she said excitedly.
The Pharaoh grinned, “Airin, did you forget what day it is?” he asked.
“You couldn’t have forgotten, you were so psyched about it yesterday!” Duke said. She started wracking her brain for any clues, but nothing was particularly outstanding from yesterday…
Ryou nodded with an amused expression and his kind smile, “Maybe she did…. ” he said as he looked over to the other two.
Airin frowned, “What are you talking about, it’s the start of the tournament… isn’t it?” she asked, suddenly worried she may have confused the dates.
The trio suddenly brought their hands forwards, showcasing three presents, all wrapped with heart-printed wrappings. “Happy Valentines Day!” the three chimed together.
“It’s WHAT?!” she squeaked uncharacteristically as she received a kiss on her cheeks from the three boys. “Valentines, Airie-chan! You were so excited about it yesterday, we thought we would surprise you” Ryou said kindly, tilting his head.
“So? What are you waiting for?! Open them!” Duke said, barely containing his own excitement.
From Ryou, she had received the newest cd from Gackt. From Duke, she received a keychain with a photo of the three of them in the plastic mould. The picture was taken when they had taken her to the fair for her birthday. All three of them had the goofiest expressions on, and it always made her laugh. From Yami, a pair of hair-ties with a charm with her name attached to each.
“Thank you!! I love it so much!!” she yelled, jumping up and hugging them happily. She laughed excitedly as she looked each one over, grinning from ear to ear.
“This is a Championships Tournament… not The Bachelorette” Seto Kaiba said grimly as he stalked past them, trying his best not to look too interested. She blushed at his remark and quickly stepped away from the three. Seeing her reaction, they all silently made an agreement to spur her on.
“Go” they insisted to her. Duke overdid his encouraging wink, causing her to blush beet-red in embarrassment. Distracting her from her current situation, Yami and Ryou started pushing her after Seto with their own smiles. “Thank you so much! I love it!! I’ll see you guys later!” she said over her shoulder while running towards the Kaiba Corp CEO.
Stuffing her presents into her handbag and tying the hair-bands into her hair, she ran after him. She could see him slowing down ever so slightly when he heard her voice. “Morning, Mr. Kaiba” she teased as she finally reached his side. The young CEO ran his hand over his face, hiding his blush, “Don’t call me that. Didn’t I tell you call me 'Seto’?” he said.
Airin shrugged, “Hmmm… I suppose…. How are you feeling today?” she asked, excitedly. He glanced at her with a small smile tugging at his lips, “I’ve finally worked out the perfect strategy… there’s no way I can lose” he muttered, more to himself than anyone.
The young woman eyed him for a second, “That’s cool… I’m so excited for my match too! Well, I’ve got to go. My first match is starting” she said as the announcement rang through the intercoms.
She turned to go to the first round platforms but paused when she heard a small grunt from Seto. He waited for a second and tried to gather his courage, “Airin… I… hm.. Good luck” he said quickly and started to Security Office for the last of the remaining system checks. “Thanks, Seto!” she called after him cheerily, unconsciously biting her nails at the reminder of his encouragement. He wasn’t the type to just encourage or congratulate anyone, and she treasured each time he would do so for her.
Jogging over to the Preliminaries, she joined the group standing in the entrance of the stadium. The stadium was divided into eight dueling areas, making it possible to have up to eight duels at a time. The thirty-two contestants all stood by as Mokuba read the rules and announcements for them. All thirty-two contestants had been hand picked by the Kaiba Corporation based on their level of skill and competency as a duelist. Kaiba Corp had even called in Pegasus to oversee the fairness of the selection.
A half an hour later, sixteen duelists were paired up, each with his or her opponent, and the Preliminaries began. The remaining sixteen weren’t paired up and was given the option to return an hour later for their own match or just to observe.
Airin was in the second group and had the chance to watch Seto dueling Ryo. She stood on the side of the arena, arms crossed and grinning at the pure eletist attitude each simply exuded. “You should just quit right now, Ryou, and save yourself the embarrassment” Seto said as he loaded his duel-disc with his deck. “I don’t think so, Seto” his opponent replied. Airin flinched internally as she heard his voice. That was no longer Ryou Bakura…
“Let the duel begin!” the announcement rang through the arena.
Half an hour later, a grinning Seto Kaiba stepped off the arena while a self-assured Yami Bakura walked towards her. She saw Seto’s blue eyes follow Bakura darkly. It was obvious that he tried to change his direction as casually as possible, from heading towards her to walking to Roland. “Oh, Bakura… ” she sighed apologetically when the young man reached her side, “That last Blue-Eyes Ultimate combo was harsh”. The Thief King grinned, “I never planned on beating him” he said egotistically. Airin forced a smile, internally laughing at the thought that his ego never admitted a loss.
“I just needed to find out what happened to the Mil-“ he paused in his musings when he met Airin’s eyes. She was looking at him with that 'I know what you’re thinking…so stop thinking it’ look. He looked away with a huff, “Never mind that… Your match is next, isn’t it?” he said seriously.
“I’m dueling against Marik, he’s…. ” she looked over the crowd and pointed to the entrance where she could see him speaking to Yami Yugi, “…over there”.
Yami Bakura grinned, “Marik? He was never duelist enough to win the God Cards for himself… ” he said, bursting out laughing after a moment, “You should have no trouble beating him”.
She shrugged, “I’m not so sure… his deck is strong enough, even without the Winged Dragon of Ra” she said.
“The next set of Preliminaries are about to begin!” Roland announced through the intercoms.
“Well.. I’ve got to go… ” she said and started to her selected arena. When she felt a hand enclosing her wrist, she turned back. “Airin… my Queen… ” he purred, lowering his face towards hers, “I want you to win”. She blushed awkwardly and forced a smile, “T-thanks, Bakura… umm…” she stuttered. He reached into his trench-coat and pulled out a card, holding it out towards her, “I want you to use this…. ” he requested.
It was Dark Necrofear. “B-Bakura… this is… your-” she started, but he put his finger on her lips. “Use it in your match… ” he said, leaning forwards. She quickly ducked her head, stepping back, “T-thanks… Bakura, I really appreciate it… but it’s fiend-type… I don’t any way to special summon it…. But, thank you” she said apologetically and placed it back in his hand.
The young woman jogged off to her selected arena, feeling very self-conscious. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but she had the feeling that her attempt had failed.
“Marik versus Airin. Would the contestants step up to the designated dueling positions”, the referee announced loudly.
Airin stepped up, but when Marik didn’t follow suit, she eyed him impatiently. He fidgeted behind his back, his face twisting in concentration. “Umm… are you alright?” she asked awkwardly. He turned his head to the back and quickly snapped his head back to the front, “Fine! If a replica of the Millenium Rod will not work on you… I shall take you by force” he announced proudly. 'That must be the evil Marik!’ Airin thought and felt a wave of coldness wash over her in the realization.
“You and what army?” Airin said unimpressed, internally congratulating her voice for not betraying her on how anxious she was feeling.
Marik cackled, sending shivers down her spine. “What about a wager? … If I win, you’ll be mine” he said triumphantly. “And what if I win?” she countered, seemingly unperturbed by his wager. “You can have any five cards in my deck” he said smugly. The young woman shrugged, “Too bad the Winged Dragon of Ra is no longer in your possession” she quipped, eliciting a humiliated groan from her opponent. The first round began.
Forty-five minutes later and there was no winner in sight. Roland’s voice was heard over the speakers, “Duelists! You have fifteen minutes left!” he announced.
Airin frowned, looking down at her deck. She was half-way through her deck and had four cards left in her hand. Marik was a bit further along with five cards in his hand. He didn’t look too worried though.
On the field was her Lord of D and three face-down cards; on his side was one face-down card. That card had been there for the entire match and it was starting to worry her. What if it was a trap card that destroyed all her magic cards? Or a magic card that did damage to her Life Points?
Of course, when he noticed her eyes studying his card layout, his confidence grew, “I see you’re wondering what’s going to happen next?” he mocked and waved his arm, “Let me show you!”. He took all five cards in his hand and slotted them into the Card Graveyard.
The face-down card suddenly flipped up. Final Destiny. 'Discard 5 cards from your hand. Destroy all cards on the field’.
Instantly all her cards were destroyed. “NO!” she gasped as her Lord of D, her Flute of Summoning Dragon magic card and her Mirror Force card was destroyed.
“Ha! You took too long to fufill your strategy” Marik said, crossing his arms with his wild smirk, “Only thirteen minutes left of your freedom”.
“Airin! Don’t you dare give up!” Seto’s voice resounded from her side. She turned her head to the left, seeing him walk up to her arena. She could see the desperation in his eyes.
The young girl blushed, “Don’t worry!” she said, with a motion of her hand she waved his worry away.
“Don’t worry?! You’re losing to him!” a booming voice came from her right. Yami Bakura.
The referee quickly snapped their attention back to him when he yelled, “If you do not continue the duel I will be forced to have you forfeit!”.
With a non-comittal shrug she turned back to Marik.
“I play 'Pot of Greed’!” he announced and drew two cards. “And now, I summon Viser Des!” and set the card in defence mode on the field.
Airin frowned, thinking over her strategy, “So… this is the card that can destroy whatever monster it chooses on the third phase in play?” she said and looked at the cards in her hand. “Yes, and now I play 'Monster Reborn’ and revive Juragedo” Marik announced and met her eyes with his glare, “It is said this card is formed from all the duelists who have fallen victim to the Shadow Realm”.
“Cool. I wonder if they have vampires there!” she countered cheerily and tilted her head, “Umm… Are you finished?”.
“Not yet. Juragedo… Attack!” he called. The fiend attacked her and her 2000 Life Points dropped to 300. Marik signaled his end of turn and Airin drew her first card.
“Airin, you have to beat him this round! You don’t have enough time or Life Points left to play around with!” Seto growled, showing her that she only had eight minutes left. “Relax!” she said with her excitement bubbling up into a fierce energy, “I’m looking forward to this!”.
She quickly glanced at their remaining Life Points. Marik had 1200 Life Points and she now had 300 left. With five cards now in her hand she quickly discarded her previous strategy, “If my first plan won’t work… well… I’m just going to have to make due with what I have!”.
“Since you played Final Destiny and removed all my cards I had on the field, I can now special summon Vice Dragon!” she said with a grin as the purple colored winged dragon appeared, “But, because I had no monsters before, my dragon’s Attack and Defence points are halved”.
Marik’s eyebrow lifted, “Your pitiful dragon only has a thousand Attack Points now… ” he said and chuckled in amusement.
“I didn’t say I was done. I play 'Monster Reborn’ and revive Red-Eyes Black Dragon! In defence-mode” she announced proudly. The dragon appeared on the playing field. “And now, I play this card face-down” she said and the card appeared in front of her.
“No! Attack him! What are you doing?!” Yami Bakura yelled. The young woman didn’t respond, although, she did see how nervous Marik had become.
“I’m not afraid of your little face-down card! You’re still going to lose!” Marik countered, feeling a bit thrown by her sudden change of attitude. It was like, her entire sweet personality changed into someone who is thirsting for a battle.
He drew his first card and eyed her cautiously, “Well… let’s see how you handle this!” Marik yelled and played 'Lord Poison’, but before he could continue, Airin laughed.
“W-What?!”
“I didn’t want to have to use this on you… but, oh well!” she said with a smirk and activated her face-down card. Just Desserts.
In shock, Marik watched has his Life Points was drained by 500 for each of his monsters. The match ended.
She laughed happily as she shuffled all her cards back into her deck and put her deck back into its holster. “Great match… sorry about our… 'date’” she and giggled when she air-quoted the last bit. Yami Marik growled and held out his deck for her, “… You won.”, he admitted morosely, blushing hard. “Thank you very much!” she said as she took out a single card and handed him back his deck. “I said 'five’,” he reminded her angrily.
Holding up 'Final Destiny’ she smirked, “No you can’t use it against me again”.
Marik drew a breath before snatching his deck away from her and stomping off. Airin added the card to her deck and kissed it.
“Wonderful match, my Queen,” Bakura said as he joined her on the dueling platform. “Thanks, Bakura… but I don’t think I did that well” she said, rubbing her neck. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, “I think you did wonderfully” he said and smiled softly, seemingly returning back to his former self, Ryou.
It was only then when she noticed she was missing someone. Looking around, she couldn’t see him anywhere. “I have to go!” she said abruptly and jumped off the platform, running out of the stadium.
“Seto!” she called, weaving through the crowds of spectators.
It took a few minutes before she spotted him walking towards the parking lot. She started running faster, “Seto!” she called again. But, she knew, with all the noise of the crowds, he wouldn’t be able to hear her. “Airi-chan!” a very excited Duke Devlin yelled from the outskirts of the lot when he heard her voice. “Duke! Seto!!” she yelled, pointing to the CEO who was now climbing into his limo.
Duke ran forwards and stopped the driver from getting into the car and driving off. She could see them argueing as she made her way towards them.
“Seto! … Wait up!” she called as she finally reached the parking lot, out of breath. “Airin, why are you here?” Seto said, suddenly confused as to why she was in such a hurry to meet him.
“You… y-you’re leaving?” she said and felt a pang in her heart at the thought. He frowned, “We’re going to Domino High to pick up Mokuba, he’s sick” he said, still having a confused look plastered on his face. “Oh… ” she mouthed.
Duke walked back to her and gave her a half-hearted high-five for the match she’d won. “Thanks, Duke..” she said and was still too stunned from the new information to react further. “I’m going to meet up with the gang” he said and walked off, disappearing into the crowd.
The young girl bit her nails nervously, “I’m sorry… I don’t know…. ” she started to apologize, but Seto took the initiative and pulled her inside the limo, “Drive” is all he said. The door was shut and the driver took off.
“You really thought I would leave you?” he said and laughed. When he looked over and saw her pained expression, he quickly put his arm around her, “I was coming back…” he said, thinking that would solve the problem. She just shrugged, “Would you want to leave?” she muttered.
Seto tilted his head, “To pick up my brother from school when he’s sick… yea… The tournament isn’t that important to me” he said and suddenly followed as to why she was asking.
“If you think I would leave you… you’re wrong… ” he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest furtively. Airin only knew then how protective he had become over her as well. He would always have the same reaction when someone would ask about that about Mokuba.
She leaned back into the limo’s seat, “Oh… can I ask you something?” she said, shuffling her one foot around a bit. Normally, Seto would snap at someone to 'Get to the point’, but he never did feel the need to with her. She and Mokuba were some of the very few people who had somehow just wormed their way into the harbor of his patience and was sailing there ever since they met.
“Do you think… I mean… if we were in some alternate universe… do you think we could ever… you know… date?” she asked, her voice dropping its volume with each word.
For a moment, the young CEO wasn’t sure he had heard right, but he was pretty sure he knew what she was meaning to ask. She would never ask someone something directly, just to spare their feelings. She would purposely even ignore her own feelings to accommodate someone else.
He frowned, leaning forwards and holding his head with his hand.
The young woman suddenly felt very silly for asking him something like that, instantly regretting it but she didn’t have the courage to try and make it right.
Seto growled, rubbing his head furiously, trying to win the battle that he was waging inside his head. And then, just like that, he sat up. He took a breath. He let it out, leaned towards her and shut his eyes. It seemed as if he would pull away if he kept them open.
With just a few centimeters between them, she started to blush furiously. “If… you want…. Can I kiss you?” he asked, choking out the words before dropping his head lower as his cheeks heated up.
Her breath caught in her throat, but she somehow found the courage to answer him.
Their lips met in a kiss that just molded together perfectly into a calm wave of security they both enjoyed. He abruptly broke the kiss though and started to back away, but she quickly grabbed hold of the sides of his face, “Wait… don’t pull away” Airin hastily said.
She half expected him to pull away completely just then, but instead, he smiled, “Happy Valentines Day,” he whispered before he kissed her again.

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