Disclaimer: Even though 2020 is over, I surprisingly, but not really surprisingly, still do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!... huh. That's a shame…

Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone! We made it! We did. If you're reading this, you made it! And since it's 2021, I figured a good way to start the new year would be with a new chapter for this little tale (oh my gosh, it's not little anymore how did it get to be 35 chapters...O_O; ) In any case, let us dive on in with chapter 35! (Oh! And a bit of terminology too!)

Terms -

Mainichi (Shimbun) - a major newspaper within Japan. Its headquarters are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kitakyushu (North Kyushu), Japan. It was founded in 1872 and has been in print ever since, making it one of the oldest newspapers in the country (if not the oldest). The title literally translates in English to "The Daily / Everyday News(paper)"

Asahi Shimbun - one of five national newspapers that circulate Japan. With its first printed copy made in 1879, the company is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. The title literally means in English "The Morning Sun Newspaper"

Shonen Jump - This refers to the Weekly Shonen Jump, the manga magazine in which "Yu-Gi-Oh!" was first printed. It remains popular to this day and has inspired numerous other "Jump" magazines, which are all often thick with numerous manga chapters of various different series. These are later collected into "Tankobon" volumes, which collect the chapters for each series into a small book format. These are then translated into the collected volumes that are printed in the US and across the globe.

Hi Chew - This one some might be familiar with if it's penetrated into your area of living. It's basically a sweet chewy candy, similar to Starburst, only not so tart, nor as strong in flavor.

LINE app - Another thing that some may be familiar with. This one is a popular app used in Japan as well as other Asian countries to communicate via smartphones as it helps avoid texting limits and utilizes cute emojis and characters. The app is available beyond Japan and across the world, including in the United States.

And finally, today's title means "Invitation". ;)

-YGO-

"Sweet love like I have seen in my dreams / Yume ni made mita you na Sweet Love,

Lovers searching for a hidden refuge / Koibitotachi wa kakure ga wo sagasu no,

But in reality, the days we cannot meet continue on / Demo genjitsu wa aenai hi ga,

But I believe in Lonely Days / Tsuzukinagara mo shinjiteru no Lonely Days."

- "Rolling Days" By: YUI

Chapter Thirty-Five: 招待 (Shotai)

The sound of a phone coming down hard was nothing new. What was new was that his brother wasn't saying anything about it. Mokuba shrank into the couch in his brother's office, hoping that his brother wouldn't notice him.

The elder in the room was probably internally fuming. At least, that's the only thing that Mokuba could think of. In reality, Seto's mind was a hazy blaze of fume and fog. How dare he. How dare Pegasus make plans for him. How dare he invite the media already?

"Yes, that's right, this Friday night! I've already told the Mainichi and Asahi Shimbun; they're all excited!"

"... I don't blame them, but why on this green earth would you tell them it was going to be at my place without asking me first?" Had come the cool, rage of a question.

"I thought it was the perfect venue and of course I know you would agree. After all, Kaiba Land is far too much of a spectacle for the reveal of a piece of art such as this-"

A Black Tie event. In less than a week. Just one more headache. And at all places... his place. There would be no running away from this. Of course he could reject it but... he had a feeling Pegasus would just make a mockery of him in the papers for doing so. Rescind the card production and cancel the whole project. He half wondered how much he cared... He blinked and looked over at his brother, reading an issue of Shonen Jump.

"Mokuba... could you do me a favor?" He asked wearily.

Mokuba looked up, "Yeah? What's up?"

"That idiot planned a party at our place for this Friday. Black Tie... you wouldn't happen to... be free enough to get that together for me, would you?" Seto asked as calmly as he could.

"Uh... yeah..." Mokuba said, surprised. That had been easier than he had thought, "Do you... have any preferences or..."

"No... it's just to reveal that new card. The one based off of my likeness..." Seto trailed off.

Mokuba nodded and turned to go, only looking at his brother over his shoulder once to see him leaning back in his chair, a hand to his chin, gazing out the window. Clearly, Seto was too out of it to notice anything off. It was relieving and concerning at the same time. Exiting, he made his way down the hall to find their event specialist. The thought of it made him smile - Ayaha-san was quite the looker.

Left behind, Seto sat in his office, his head beginning to pound. What was he even doing this for? He looked out behind him over the skyline that was Domino City, the mountains peppering the area behind it as trains darted to and from their destinations. His brother's words entered his mind, like they had a dozen times before since that day.

"Nii-sama… are you… have you fallen for her?"

No. No, he hadn't. He hadn't. He hadn't been messed with. He hadn't been taken for a fool. He- And yet... it hurt. It hurt his chest to think about it. The best thing to do was to just ignore it. Ignore it all. Just, don't acknowledge it. Don't talk about it. Not to Mokuba, nor Isono… And most of all, don't talk to her about it. How could he talk to her... what even... what was she...

"You brought her here, you idiot!"

How could that even be? They'd never even met before... But then, it seemed like every memory before her existence in his life... seemed fuzzy... like something he could no longer picture without her... even those awful times with his step father... it was all a haze...

"Just stay out of her life if you're not going to do anything but ruin it."

-YGO-

"Yugi? Yugi?"

There was something... what was...

"Yugi!" Yugi jumped and turned as a hand touched his shoulder. Ishizu stood there looking at him concerned.

"Yugi, are you alright?" She asked.

"Huh? Uh... yeah, sorry..."

The whole day had been stressful. He'd half expected Pegasus to just pop out of nowhere, completely throwing him off guard at the most inopportune moments, like some kind of obstacle in a racing game. But oddly, nothing of the like had happened today, making the whole time seem oddly surreal.

Ishizu eyed him slightly, "Well, I've got some really great news, Odion and Marik were able to find a few more tablets with various new Ka on them."

Yugi spun around, "Really? New?"

"Yes, they're trying to decipher right now if they're renditions or completely new pieces..."

"Renditions?" Yugi asked.

"Yes," She said, "Copies of art of the originals. For instance, there are a few similar to Kuriboh, but with varying degrees of differences."

Yugi beamed, the first good news coming to him in a while, "That's great! What else?"

"Yes, do tell what else!"

Both of them spun around, only Yugi was too slow and quickly found his whole body wrapped in a side hug from his employer, Pegasus. There it was. That annoying obstacle... But completely unsuspecting of it, Yugi found himself freezing up as his employer beamed at Ishizu.

"Huh? Oh, uh... " Ishizu started, "Um, Pegasus... you're in an oddly... good mood."

"Oh yes, yes, I am, but gone on, what did you find?" Pegasus insisted, Yugi still in his clutches.

Ishizu, mouth gaping, cleared her throat and continued, "Uh... well... you can see for yourselves..."

Handing over a multitude of printed images, for them to see, Yugi barely caught sight of them when Pegasus whipped them out of her hands and at the same time dislodged Yugi from his grip. Holding them up to the light, Pegasus beamed.

"Oh, this is brilliant, exactly what I hired you both for. When were you going to tell me?" He asked quickly.

"I... I just heard from my brother. I was going to tell you at our meeting in-" She hesitated as Pegasus seemed far more animated than usual, "I'm sorry, but... are you... what has put you in such a good mood?"

"Hm?" Pegasus looked up from the pictures and tossed them into Yugi's hands, who quickly took them and began to scan them over, "Oh, well, many a things. I told you about that new 'modern' series that I was going to go about designing as it seemed we were at a bit of a stalemate there with finding new tablets for awhile, yes?"

Yugi looked up and Ishizu nodded for Pegasus to continue, "Well, we've completed the first one and I just got the word that our inspiration for the whole thing just agreed to host the art viewing, albeit, I might have slipped it before confirmation to the newspapers, though word from his subordinates said it was near confirmed anyway, but it went off without a hitch and now we have a lovely party to go to this Friday! Oh, which reminds me."

He produced three envelopes from inside his jacket and handed one to Ishizu and two to Yugi, "Of course you are both invited."

"Oh, I couldn't-" Ishizu started.

"Of course you could! If it wasn't for your insistence that new directions are needed at times when things become slow, then this never would have happened, Ishizu," Pegasus told her, "I never would have had the inspiration."

Ishizu's mouth shut. She did remember that conversation. Though to be fair, she had been referring more towards his insistence on sticking to excavating the Valley of the Kings, but...

"Oh, and of course, it's a plus one. Yugi-boy, please use this as an excuse to thrust yourself at the lovely Ms. Gardner, you're far to shy about it dear boy," Pegasus said, immediately noticing Yugi's face turning redder than a tomato.

"Huh, uh, no no, I, we're uh just friends..." He stammered, before again being cut off.

"No, no, I see it, we all see it, I insist. After all of your hard work, you deserve a bit more time off while you're in your native country."

Yugi slowly nodded and returned a smile when he looked down at the second envelope, which had another name on it, "Huh, Joey?"

"Oh, oh yes, that one is for your friend Mr. Wheeler," Pegasus said, "I've been meaning to reach out to him, he's really come quite a long way since all that time back in your high school days. I'm hoping he'll be the next subject of this series actually..."

"So then- this.."

"Yes, that's for him and his plus one and your's and Tea's are in your's," Pegasus explained.

"Wait, does that mean that I have to-" Ishizu started.

"Yes, I'd be delighted for you to bring a special someone along as well Ms. Ishtar," Pegasus replied happily.

"I... I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have no one of importance to me in that-"

"Oh, that's a shame, well, the two of us can likely find something to do while the rest of the youth flutter about..." Pegasus mused, clearly disappointed.

Ishizu's eyes widened before she caught herself and forced a smile, "I'll... find someone."

"Great!" Pegasus exclaimed, "And at our meeting, I want to hear all of the details regarding these findings! Don't hold anything back!"

"I... sure won't," Ishizu said, clearly unsure as to how to react to Pegasus, who was acting as if his birthday and Christmas had come on the same day without his knowing.

"Well, go call your lovely girlfriend, Yugi, my boy. I have a meeting to get to, but I'm glad that I have such great timing. See you this afternoon, Ishizu," He called, heading towards the door.

Both archeologists watched Pegasus as he left the room, both thinking the same thing, which was, when did he even come into the room in the first place? Ishizu shook her head and sat down. Glancing at her, Yugi could only sympathize with her pain. When Pegasus got excited about something, he was near always difficult to handle... Looking at the envelope, he placed the photos down in order to carefully slip his invitation open and read it over. Cordially invited... unveiling of the first... please arrive promptly at... Kaiba Manor?

Yugi blinked a few times, reading over the location again and again. Had this... it had to be. Mokuba's doing... somehow. Or had this been in the works prior to all of this? Maybe it had been an option or something on some level... Mokuba probably was just manipulating the situation to his advantage...

His eyes caught hold of the pictures again and he picked them up once more. This time, with no distractions, he attempted to sift through them slower. These.. . were great for them. It meant more clues, but...

"Ishizu... were there any other tablets found, by chance?" He asked slowly.

"Hm?" She asked, looking up from her own invitation, "Oh, no... that's all of them. Why?"

"I... no reason," Yugi said, "Just making sure..."

Ishizu watched him suspiciously, but sighed and looked down at the envelope. Yugi was always prone to having more fascination regarding relics related to his favorite cards. She thought he might have weeped when they first found the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, but somehow... she didn't think that was it this time. He was looking for something, not related to his cards. Not related to the King... She glanced up over at the broken pieces of tablet off to the side that they had had no luck on in over a month. Maybe that was it...

Yugi sighed and pocketed the invitation, "Well, is Odion awake?"

"Oh, yes, he is," She said, "Probably..."

"Let's give him a call then. Start looking into these," Yugi said, a smile gracing his features as though nothing had been bothering him moments earlier, though she was pretty sure something was.

Ishizu smiled, with a little hint of admiration for the new king. He had... definitely learned how to play the game of life... by the best.

"Yes, let's."

-YGO-

In the usual fashion, as she was now accustomed to, Kisara switched the "Open" sign to "Closed". As she moved to lock the door, the handle suddenly jingled and she jumped back. It was Yugi. He was home...

"You're... early..." She said surprised.

Yugi shrugged, "Pegasus was in a good mood. Where's Joey?"

"Uh..."

"I'm right here, Yug. Wha'da ya need?" He asked from the counter where he was counting cash.

Yugi shuffled his way inside while Kisara locked the door, quickly meeting up with him at the counter.

"This is for you," He said, handing an envelope to Joey.

A brow raised, Joey took the envelope, which only had his name on it and opened it from the short side, sliding out a letter.

"You're hereby cordially invited to the unveiling of the first in a series of original art for the purposes of the creation of the newest set of Duel Monsters cards, created by Maximillion Pegasus. In conjunction with the Kaiba Corporation, we invite you to attend this special black tie event held at- Kaiba Manor? Oh heck no!" Joey said, his eyes wide as he slammed the letter back down on the table, "This has got to be some sort of sick jo-"

A knock at the door and the jingling of a handle alerted the three of them to the presence of a fourth person in their vicinity.

"Oh, Tea..." Kisara said, running over. Tea had said she was coming by after dance class. She slid at the edge of the room and unlocked the door, "Tea, sorry about that."

"Not a problem!" Tea's voice rang as she stepped inside and instantly, Yugi felt color rushing to his face again, the memory of Pegasus' insistence from earlier still fresh in his mind, "Oh, Yugi, you're back early! How'd that happen?"

"... Pegasus let me off early..." Yugi said slowly, though Tea didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, well that's great! You guys want to go get dinner together? I'm starved," She said.

"After Yugi explains what the heck Kaiba's doin' inviting me of all people to his house," Joey said sourly.

Tea almost snorted in laughter, "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not!" Joey yelled at her, holding up the invitation for her to read.

Tea walked over and squinted at the writing. Sure enough, there it was. An invitation to Kaiba Manor.

"What'd you do, kidnap Mokuba and you'll only exchange him for an invitation?" Tea asked.

"As if!" Joey snapped, bringing the paper back and looking at it with a loathing. Though to be fair, that kid was coming by the shop more and more often these days. Maybe eventually Kaiba would think he was kidnapping him. It made Joey's brain hurt just thinking about it, "And look at that, a plus one. What kind of..."

"A plus one?" Tea asked, "What's the whole thing for anyway?"

"It's an unveiling of Pegasus' newest Duel Monsters card. I got an invite too," Yugi explained.

"Oh that's awesome! Did he say which one? Is that why you got invited?" Tea asked.

Yugi nodded, the "plus one" continuing to worry him as well, "Yeah... you know how he is."

"Well, that's great! When is it? New cards are always cool. You are going, aren't you?" She asked.

"I... " Yugi started, "Am but uh..."

He pulled at his collar. It felt hot in here all of a sudden, "Um... Tea... I uh..."

Why now of all times, in front of these other two?

"I also have a plus one and... would uh... would you like to uh, join me, er, us?" Yugi stumbled, "I mean, um... me?"

Tea's eyes seemed to double while Yugi could feel both Kisara and Joey's eyes on his back. Why oh why... he felt like he was back in high school. He was so dumb. He should have practiced this before asking. This was Pegasus' fault. Why had he put it in his head? And why at the time, had he actually kind of like the idea of going along with it?

"Like... a date?" Tea asked, surprised.

"Uh..." Joey and Kisara watched with baited breath as Yugi worked to get the words out, "Um, sure, I mean, yes, er, no, I mean, only if you'd like it to be, we don't have to or anything, but uh, it could be nice, if you want, I mean, of course it will be nice but-"

"Sure."

Yugi felt like he was hearing things, "Sure?"

Tea nodded and laughed, "Yeah, I mean, how else am I supposed to see you otherwise?"

Considering the sensation the words had on him, Yugi was pretty sure a brick just had hit him in the face and tried to keep his face from showing how torn he was not knowing if that was an insult or a compliment. He nodded slowly.

Meanwhile, both Kisara and Joey wondered whether or not that had been Tea's weird way of oddly saying she did want to date Yugi. Whatever the case though, her answer rather dashed their hopes of it being considered a "real" date. It had placed the whole thing clearly in the "is this friendzone or dating-zone we don't know" category. But as Tea smiled and looked out the window, Kisara saw a light hit her roommate's face. And distinctly, right there, she saw a little hint of blush coming to her smiling cheeks as her friend winced before turning back to Yugi.

Tea, for her part, was internally screaming at herself, her worry and anxiety over… them, just knawing at her. Why couldn't she just stop at "sure"? Why couldn't she commit completely and put herself out there totally obviously? Especially when in all likelihood, he might be… probably was... doing just that? Inwardly she groaned though. She just didn't know… But regardless, the prospect of a date was incredibly flattering and exciting and she couldn't stop smiling.

"Right, okay, well, uh-"

"Yugi, is that you?" The four turned to see to their surprise, Solomon Muto out of his bed.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?" Yugi said, running to the door to help stabilize his grandfather.

"What? I'm allowed out of my bedroom. It's my house," Solomon snapped.

"I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't," Solomon continued, "I just felt like getting up and about and once I reached the stairs, I heard voices. Figured I'd see what was going on."

"Oh..." Yugi trailed off.

Solomon nodded, his eyes falling to each occupant of the room, eventually passing over to Kisara, where they rested quietly for a moment longer than the rest, before he turned back to his grandson.

"Yugi, will you do me a favor and help me into the living room?" He asked.

"Sure," Yugi said quickly, grateful for any excuse to get him out from in front of Tea's presence, "Be right back guys."

Assisting his grandfather back inside, Yugi left his three friends alone, meaning Joey could now vent all he wanted.

"I'm not going," He said simply.

"Oh come on, don't be a party pooper," Tea said.

Joey rolled his eyes. Some talk coming from her, after just killing both his and Kisara's hopes for her and Yugi to go on a 'real' date.

"Kaiba will likely have me escorted right off the premises anyway," Joey told her.

"You're worried Mai will be there, aren't you?" Tea said, pulling out a Hi-Chew from her back pocket and popping it into her mouth.

"Wha... why would I be worried about that?" Joey stammered, "I'm more worried about becoming the butt of one of Kaiba's cruel jokes."

"Not like he'll have time to pay attention to you for that anyway. Besides, if Pegasus invited you, I'm sure he'll hold his tongue... probably..." Tea added after a thought, "Right Kisara?"

She turned to Kisara and offered her a Hi-Chew as Joey responded, "I suppose... at least for a while. I'm pretty sure he has little patience for Pegasus though..."

"So then just avoid them," Tea said, "And even if Mai is there, just because you'd be going alone isn't a reason to avoid it."

"Who says I'd be going alone?" Joey snapped.

Tea eyed him, "Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean..." Joey stumbled on his words, "Kisara, you'd go with me right?"

Kisara's brows raised quickly, "What?"

"I..." Joey's quick words came to a halt as he now found himself in the pit that Yugi had been in moments earlier, "I... I mean, I, uh... would uh, would you go with me?"

Kisara found herself suddenly aware of how stiff her shoulders were, "Uh..."

There was a bang on the door, alerting the remaining three to the door. Using the distraction where she could get it, Kisara ran over and opened the door again, a new guest arriving, "Hey! Mind if I come in?"

"You!" Joey yelled, "What are you doing here? What kind of joke is thi-"

"I know you're thrilled!" Mokuba announced loudly before getting a giddy look on his face, "And Yugi got a plus one too right? So who's he going to take?"

"Now wait, wait, wait. Your brother-" Joey started.

"Gave Pegasus several invitations to use at his discretion," Mokuba filled in, "And there's a plus one right? So Yugi's taking..."

His bright face seemed alight with anticipation, when slowly, Tea raised her hand, "Me."

Mokuba turned to Tea in surprise. He had hinted to Pegasus that everyone should bring a date but... Dang. He cursed hormones. He probably should have counted on that anyway. He had figured Yugi would realize that he should take Kisara. But then again, there was really no way Yugi wouldn't have asked Tea (unless of course he got too shy about it, which then again, had been a possibility...). It was probably at least partially Pegasus' doing too - pushing Yugi to do that. Still, that left...

"So who are you taking then?" Mokuba asked, turning to Joey, immediately, "You got a plus one too, right?"

"Uh..." Joey glanced over at Kisara, "I... I mean... Kisara, I didn't mean to put you on the spot, I just..."

"No, no, it's fine, I..."

Mokuba clapped his hands together, "Oh, so you're taking her then, good!"

"Well..." Joey glanced between the three as Tea popped another Hi Chew. He sighed, "I, Kisara... That, that all came out rather... rude of me earlier. I didn't mean to assume or anything, but I... would you like to go with me?"

Mokuba's eyes shot between the two, almost simultaneously with Tea's. So this… wasn't confirmed yet? And they were treating these like real dates? He hadn't been expecting this and suddenly, his stomach dropped a little. Still, he thought it was important that she go… if for nothing else, than for his Nii-sama's sake.

Kisara swallowed, trying to phrase what she was about to say as kindly as possible, "I... Joey, this has nothing to do with you. But... I, I don't know how comfortable I would feel going to... the Kaiba household. I mean, I understand it would be... advantageous for Yugi, probably, but... if Tea's going... Tea, you only have one nice dress right?"

Tea reluctantly nodded and Kisara continued, "I'd have nothing to go in anyway. So..."

"It's okay. I get it," Joey said, "Don't apologize."

Rubbing her arm, Kisara bent her head down twice, signalling that she was grateful for his understanding. Mokuba looked between them and pursed his lips, not satisfied in the least.

"You know, it's my house too. Just because you're not getting along with my brother, it doesn't mean, I'm mad at you," He said gently, "And I'd bet anything I could keep Pegasus busy..."

"I... I know," Kisara said, "But all the same, it just seems like a long shot anyway and I don't know what I'd add by being there and what with all the fancy clothes and such..."

She silently thanked what lucky stars she still had. Indeed, she wasn't keen on going. She did not feel comfortable at all. And having two, no three excuses, counting Pegasus' attendance, had quickly alleviated her of any social obligations to attend.

Mokuba rolled his eyes, annoyed, "Alright, well, I'm off. I expect to see Yugi there then."

"Excuse me?" Joey stood up from his chair that he had been sitting at, "What do you mean, "expect to see Yugi there"? Just because I'm going alone doesn't mean-"

"So you are going alone," Tea said with a slight giggle.

"No one asked yo-"

The sound of the door opening and closing brought Joey's attention back around to the fact that he had been angry at Mokuba moments earlier, but alas, the boy was gone now. He growled and turned on heal to go back into the house.

"Whatever," He muttered, before calling behind himself to Tea, "And this still doesn't mean I'll be going alone!"

Tea rolled her eyes and offered Kisara another Hi-Chew, "He's so temperamental. Come on, let's go home."

Kisara nodded, reaching behind the counter for her purse and slinging it over her shoulder. As she did so, she saw to her left, the invitation, wide open on the counter. She paused briefly, gazing at it. Maybe she should go... as much as she didn't want to. But the idea of seeing Seto again... it made her feel like shriveling up just imagining it. Turning back to her roommate, she nodded, allowing them to make their way to the door towards the train that would take them home.

-YGO-

"This is it! This is the opportunity!"

"No, I won't..." He leaned forward, aiming for the arm of the couch and missed...

"Can't you see how perfect this will be? While everyone is distracted, you can destroy her and every terrible facet she represents!"

"She's... got nothing to do with it..." Ryo held his head tightly. Not this voice again...

"She's got everything to do with it! She is the key, the portal... the link. You must destroy it!"

"No... I won't..." He fought back

"You will... you want this suffering to end, don't you? You want dear old me gone? I'm only here because of her... Her strength is what allows me and alllll the others to come here and wreak havoc here... I just want what is best for you though..."

Bakura found himself turning white, feeling sick. Why wouldn't it just go away? Why couldn't it just stop taunting him? That's all he wanted. He knew it…For it to go away... Just... please... it all had to go away...

"And it will," The voice taunted as if actually responding to his inner private thoughts, "If you just do as I say."

-YGO-

The train moved at a smooth pace, as though daring to lul her to sleep. The cool air of late September threatened to make its way into the cold train compartment while the heat under the seats refused to turn on. It wasn't quite that time of year yet... Yuzu's eyes felt heavy, even as she held her phone tightly in her hand, the LINE app open on one particular stream of texts.

"I need your help."

"Get your manservants to help you."

"Come on, I'm sorry, please... Yuzu this is important."

"More like unimportant."

"Please, you know I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't have ditched you the other day if it wasn't important."

She had hesitated there. Did she know that? She rested her head on the side guard, her chin length hair framing her face perfectly, even as the old man next to her practically snorred. She rolled her eyes.

"It probably is, but it doesn't change the fact that..." She began to type when another text came in.

"Yuzu, would you go with me to my brother's party?"

She stopped. Was he trying to win her over? She was really getting tired of this. He was cute. He was sweet. But he was also an airhead at times. And when he focused on something, he only focused on that one thing. Getting his attention felt like pulling teeth. Was it wrong of her to want his attention? ... She groaned internally as it her that she did want his attention. That idiot.

She brought her phone up to read it over closely, "If I did, would you use it to ask me for a favor?"

She waited as the text came back.

"No."

Her brows raised, but then she saw more text following, "I'm asking you to go with me and then regardless of if you said yes or not, I was going to ask you for help on something else."

She rolled her eyes and responded promptly, "You're an idiot."

"But you love me," came the response.

Surprised, Yuzu leaned back and reread the text. He... he didn't know that. Did he? She felt as though a deep red was engulfing her whole face. Hopefully, no one on the train would notice.

"Seriously, no obligation for any favors, nothing. Just... you're important to me. Really. So, please, come with me?"

Yuzu held her phone as the train came to a halt. What a dork. She sighed and slowly typed back with a small little smile on her face, "Okay."

"Great! :D :D :D" Came the response.

And there was the proof that she was going to a party with a dork. Yuzu rolled her eyes, when she looked up and noticed that the doors had closed to her station. She let out a frustrated sigh. She'd have to get off and get back on at the next station now. Another text came in.

"Now, I need your help with picking out a dress."

Yuzu's face dropped instantly. Nevermind, not a dork, a moron. Truly a moron.

-YGO-

A/N: Oh Mokuba, when are your schemes not appreciated? Anywho, what did you all think? Send in a review with your thoughts! And as always thank you for your patience. I'm honestly getting rather nervous with this story as we're getting to some more… climatic moments. :3 And as such, I really want them to live up to the rest of the story thus far. So I might be a tad bit later next time and in coming chapters, but hopefully it's worth it! As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope to have something fun for you all to read next time!

Later,

~Rena