Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, blahblahblah.

Holy hell! Here's another disclaimer.

Disclaimer II: This is, by far, NOT like my other stories. Proceed with caution.

Like the other stories, there is danger, and Yami comes to save the day. Yippee.

But there's an entirely new twist to this. Before, I have portrayed Yami's character as kind, sweet, gentle, and protective. Oh yeah, and angsty, too. But nothing like this. This is like a train ride to Sin City compared to my other fictions. If you don't like it, tell me, or don't read it. Like I've said before, I don't really care about flames, I just like to write. But, again, I wanted to try something outside of my arena to test myself.

I should probably mention that there are probably mistakes in here, as I just realized, it's 3:30am here. This thing took me about three hours to write, edit, etc. :/

It had come to Tea's attention–the many sides to Yami that presented themselves in certain circumstances. The first aspect she had observed, when she had first taken notice of his undeniable existence, was intimidation. The spirit was sternly protective of Yugi and his friends, enough to cause clear psychological damage to the perpetrators who dared threatened to harm them.

The second, was mercy. Though Yami prefers to hold himself in the highest regard–possibly due to his regality once held in Ancient Egypt–he could not help but adhere to his vessel's wishes. The vessel, being Yugi, appeared as his only vulnerability. Yugi was, in many ways, quite the opposite of the dark spirit, always kind and gentle and loving. He detested violence and revenge, which at one time saved his rival from an untimely death.

The third, of which she had had the pleasure of witnessing and interacting with merely minutes before their present circumstance, was the kind, courteous, humble man who treats everybody with utmost respect. This was Tea's favorite of his personalities, unsurprisingly. It reflected many of Yugi's shining attributes.

Also, by nature of her own personality and longing for a true lover, was her undying infatuation with him. The King of Games, the Master of Shadow Games, a respectable human being (more or less), and her loyal companion, all in one package. It was truly remarkable, the blessing that the gods had bestowed on her to even have the opportunity to be in his presence–not to mention admire his every feature from afar. Still, Tea felt that there was even more to Yami that she has yet to see.

The obnoxious orange-haired stranger with a slight Canadian (or Australian; Tea couldn't really tell which it was, nor did she care) accent, touched Tea's arm again. "C'mon love, ditch this loser and come have a drink at my place... whadd'ya say eh?"

Clearly, this man wasn't about to recede his forward gestures. For the past five minutes, Kyle–as he proclaimed to be earlier on–had determinedly attempted to persuade Tea to do exactly what he had been persisting all along–to ditch Yami on their date (if she dared call it a date), go to his house, drink herself silly and, most likely, be led all the way to home base. In so many words.

Though Yami was somewhat otherwise socially inept with today's modern society, he immediately picked up on the dastardly intentions of this man, and protectively stood beside Tea, wrapping his hand around hers and intertwining fingers. He held a serious, and yet completely emotionless, expression on his handsome face. His eyes were narrowed, creating an intense, icy glare that could potentially slice a man in two.

"Don't touch her." Those words slithered from his mouth through clenched teeth, dripping with venom, causing even Tea to experience incessant chills up her spine; he was genuinely infuriated. Though physically at a disadvantage to Kyle, Yami's face showed no fear or uncertainty. Yet as calm and collected as he appeared, Tea could somehow sense him boiling up inside; she detected indisputable rage that she had never imagined he could contain. Yami's hand suddenly felt rigid against hers, of which could only make her guess that his inbound wrath would shortly be released; lest Kyle withdraws his advancements. Unfortunately, such conditions are most unlikely in this situation.

Kyle shifted his gaze from Tea to Yami; he raised his eyebrows, as if he were challenging him. He clearly surpassed Yami physically, and yet he was perplexed as to why the shorter man failed to appear intimidated.

"Protecting your girl now I see, eh?" Kyle smirked. "Awrighty then, suit yourself!"

A fist came out of nowhere and collided with the left side of Yami's face, causing him to sprawl backwards, forcing the release of his hand and Tea's. Tea gasped in surprise, watching horrified as Yami sat up, scowling, now with a dark bruise on his cheek.

The orange-haired teenager proceeded to throw back his head in a sudden fit of laughter. "Look at 'im, how weak he is, in the dirt there. A pretty thing like you would want a real man at your side, don't ya?"

Anger boiled inside of Tea instantly. She mustered up the courage she had and faced Kyle full front, a hard determination in her eyes.

"For your information, Kyle, I do have a real man at my side, to protect me from scumbags like you!" And at the last second, before she could stop herself, she spit in his face. As the saliva left her lips, her suddenly-accumulated bravery did as well, especially when Kyle, in retaliation, proceeded to whip the flat of his hand across her cheek. For a split second, her face was numb, before her nerves registered the swift blow and the sharp pain was enough to cause tears to well up on the brims of her eyelids. Tea shrieked out of pure shock, pressing her hand against the offended part of her face as a feeble attempt to subdue the maddening sting that now caused her cheek to throb vigorously.

Before she knew it, Tea felt a strong hand firmly gripping her shoulder and pulling her backwards, as Yami emerged from behind her. What caused her to jump in fear was not just the raw anger that twisted his handsome features, or even the fact that he was on the verge of, perhaps unknowingly, hurting her as he forcefully moved her from his path; it was the hatred that was so dark and seething, it seemed to have tainted the beautiful violet shades of his eyes into a sinister crimson, like freshly-drawn blood. And lastly, the thing that caught her attention directly after his eyes, was the golden Eye of Horus glowing wickedly on his forehead.

"I clearly said to not touch her, mortal." Yami's voice was even, but in calm rage. A storm was brewing inside of him, and Tea could not even begin to visualize the punishments he was scheming to inflict upon this man... this "mortal". It was as if Yami wasn't human anymore...

Kyle took a step or two back, absolute panic clearly readable in his eyes; fright was instilled upon his now perspiring face, as he began to regret such brash actions done just mere moments ago. He tried to speak, but his voice failed to deliver anything beyond incoherent, fear-induced noises.

"And now," Yami whispered, though audible to both Tea and Kyle, "you will pay."

Almost immediately, as if on cue, Kyle began convulsing in violent seizure-like jerks, falling to the sidewalk, screaming in terror. He continued to roll over on his back, side to side, constantly trying to escape the imaginary shadow monster that is supposedly tearing his soul apart, piece by piece. Veins bulged from his head and his eyes widened to where they could very well pop out of his sockets. Tea could see that Kyle was, scarily rapidly, going mad.

Though Yami was plainly taking pleasure in the suffering of his victim, as he condescendingly stared down at his victim with his blood-red eyes, the scene proved to be absolutely overwhelming for Tea; she could not even bear to imagine such harsh, maddening torture inflicted on anyone... not even this man, who had every intention of taking advantage of her... and he had even physically harmed her... and Yami as well–not even Kyle deserved such a horrible, cruel fate.

Tea had seen a part of this side of him before–intimidation. He puts on a front that he fears nothing, and that he will do what it takes to save himself and/or his friends. But never before had she seen him like this– frightening his enemies into submission, until they grovel at his mercy. Tea could clearly see now that Yami was much less capable of containing his untamed emotions... his wrath that had accumulated in so little time.

The kind-hearted brunette did what was the only thing that made sense to her to do; against her normal and logical judgment, she quickly latched on to Yami's arm and tugged at his sleeve.

"Yami!" she screamed. "Stop, please! Let him go!"

The dark spirit slowly turned his head to her direction; with Kyle writhing helplessly on the ground, seconds felt like hours, increasing her anxiety to get his attention. She jerked his arm again, snapping his gaze on her.

"Please, Yami, don't do this!" she pleaded again. "Leave him be!" Tears had begun to fall freely down her face, in wild desperation for him to cease the man's psychological torment.

To her utmost relief, Tea noticed that Kyle's screaming had indeed died down into mere whimpering, as Kyle's expression relaxed ever-so-slightly. He suddenly jumped to his feet, gave Yami a brief apprehensive stare, before fleeing down the street in the opposite direction, without even casting a backwards glance.

Yami's transformation had begun to revert to normal as well; his hardened face softened from agonizing fury into worry, concern... and bewilderment. The amethyst hue in his eyes had returned, and he was slightly out of breath. Tea yet again saw another side of him that she vaguely recognized: mercy. Tea realized that she, too, was out of breath, as certainly their emotional exertions had momentarily depleted their energy. Nevertheless, Yami was quick to regain his composure.

"My only wish was to protect you, Tea," he said. His eyes, though violet once again, held a heart-wrenching kind of sorrow–guilt, or shame perhaps. "And I am sorry that I have frightened you. It won't happen again, I can assure you."

The brunette was at a complete loss of words... what was she to say to him in response to that? At that moment, he placed his hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to comfort her with his familiar touch. Her rattled nerves responded to the contact, settling down and allowing her to breathe calmly again. His hand left her shoulder only to softly graze over the bruise on her cheek. He seemed disturbed as his fingers glided over her face. Tea also noticed his own bruise on his left cheek, which had turned a nasty shade of dark purple, yet it didn't seem to bother him.

"You cannot possibly understand... when he hurt you... I just..."–he briefly closed his mouth and took a revitalizing breath through his nose before continuing–"I... got carried away..."

Yami removed his hand from her face, only for it to slowly slide down her arm and to her hand before grasping it firmly. He lightly pulled her hand, beckoning her to follow him, intriguing her with his unreadable expression. Simply unable to convince herself otherwise, she followed him as he guided her into a small alley, where the surrounding tall brick buildings obscured most of the sunlight. With a quick check to make sure there were no threats residing in the alley, Tea returned her focus to the man in front of her.

"What are you doing... why are we–"

Her interrogations were silenced by a soft "shh" and two fingers at her lips. Though thoroughly confused at his strange behavior, she waited patiently for him to speak.

"I like the dark... I feel much more comfortable here..."

He paused briefly, as if strategizing how to properly voice his next sentiment.

"There is something I want you to know..."

He barely left any time for Tea to give it a moment's thought before he gently grasped both of her hands in his, pressing her against the wall with his upper torso and pinning her hands above her against the wall as well, trapping her with his body against her instinctual struggling, as he promptly crashed his lips against hers. The intense shock she received from his swift move, which greatly contrasted from his smooth, tender gestures, left her frozen at the spot. His quick release not only left her gasping for air–it strangely left her craving for more. Her infatuation, her admiration of him over these past years, is rushing back to her in a flash, as she stared into his mesmerizing eyes.

Though earlier she had seen examples of the other shades of his personality, aside from his lack of self-control of his crashing fury, this seemed to be another whole new area of his personality that she hadn't dreamed of; and it all dawned on her with the kiss that was left with a tingling sensation on her lips, that lingered long after the kiss was dispelled. It was as if he had a longing deep inside him–an insatiable lust that had yet to be satisfied. All the while Tea was certain that Yami, the spirit of a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, was quite incapable of experiencing such... erotic... human emotions. But after this turn of events, all of her theories of him, all her contemplations, were as good as shot.

As these thoughts gravitated to the back of her mind, Tea began to observe the position she was in; Yami had her completely at his mercy, and she seemed to like it... which was an entirely new concept for her. She saw herself as an independent, hard-willed young woman who would never under any circumstances let a man, or anyone, take advantage of her... yet in this situation she found herself helpless to resist; any and every logical thought in her mind that would have stopped her before seemed to have abandoned her, only to leave her pondering what it was about him that sent her spiraling into mind-dizzying spells... the way he kissed her was so gentle, yet tantalizing, to say the least, as if his very intentions were to draw her to him...

Tea snapped back to the present, only to find herself a brief moment to breathe before Yami had captured her in yet another kiss, and yet this one was also quickly released, coaxing her to pursue more... he was holding back, she could sense it. Perhaps he was uncertain... maybe he believed that he was being too forward, much like Kyle's advancement. Upon realizing this, she felt herself enticed to press her lips against his, as if to reassure him that she indeed requited his feelings, that she trusted him with her heart and soul, and that she was willing to succumb to him and his hungry desires...

He pecked her on the lips yet again, but only for a short time... now he was just being provocative; with each second, Tea's heart began to race faster, anticipating the warmth of Yami's mouth on hers, when at last she received what she longed for; and now his tongue prodded against her lips, begging entry into her mouth. She obliged without hesitation, and within that moment he completely harnessed her soul in that one kiss; she felt that he was not merely kissing her–he was consuming her, like a hungry tiger on the prowl, and she might as well have been his prey. His dark passion seemed to reach past her mouth and throat... to her very core.

Tea was also surprised to notice that Yami still had her in his tight grasp, allowing no freedom to move, enabling her to experience the full, sensuous pleasure of her entirely submissive position as he continued to devour her. And finally, just about when Tea could stand no more without taking a breath, Yami released her from the kiss, both promptly gasping for air. Their eyes met and locked on each other's for what seemed like an eternity.

"Now do you see why that man had to suffer?" Yami wheezed between panting. "He hurt and violated you... and I couldn't have that. I love you. I need you..."

His head travelled down to her neck, where he planted small, stimulating kisses on her neck, making her shiver in delight. How he could easily, knowingly do this to her, as if he had been doing it all his life, was beyond her entirely.

"I..." Tea began, almost completely distracted by his pleasuring her below her jaw line, caressing her neck with the soft touch of his lips, making her entire body melt. "I love you too Yami. I always have..."

She felt a small nip at her skin in response, right above her collarbone, causing her to squeak in surprise. Yami finally brought up his face to meet hers, eye to eye. A small smirk curved at his lips.

"Good. Why don't we continue this somewhere more accommodating, shall we?" He at last released her from his vice grip against the brick wall, and let her hand fall naturally into his, resuming his usual cordial exterior.

It was definitely enlightening, seeing Yami in a whole new light, realizing that he was indeed capable of the entire spectrum of human emotions, how he had agreed to show more to her than he would anyone else... she felt so important to him, as he was, indeed, important to her...

Tea smiled, a genuine happiness coursed through her aroused body. "How could I refuse?"

Wherever he led her, she followed, as long as she could remain with him...forever.

THE END