Hello, everybody! As you can see, this is (another) new story. But listen carefully to a few things I'm about to say, because it's important!

Firstly, this story is not going to be my main focus. This is basically a promise to readers of The Night Before that I'm not shirking my duties. I just wanted something to play with to keep the ideas coming. Therefore, this may not be getting updated often, or indeed, possibly at all anytime in the near future. Which brings me to the final note of import concerning this story.

I am publishing this simultaneously alongside another story called Comfort Me. This is just a fun little idea I had...to publish two stories of very different styles at the same time and choose to continue one of them based on which one receives the most favorable response. Neither of these stories are earth-shatteringly original, they're just concepts I've been playing around with. They won't have the lengthy scope of The Night Before, either. And as I say, only ONE of these stories is going to be regularly updated. I intend to finish them both, but two stories at once is about all I can reasonably handle.

Here is a summary for Comfort Me in case you are interested: Two people, each suffering with a private tragedy, reluctantly draw comfort from one another. Will Seto and Anzu be brave enough to let comfort evolve into something more?

As you can probably guess, Comfort Me is more angst-filled and serious than this story you're about to read, though as always I'm trying my hardest to keep everyone in character. The fun part, I guess, will be seeing which kind of story people are more interested in, something humorous or something angsty!

This story has no particular connection with the plot of the series, manga or anime. So please, don't come after me with sharp objects if there's anything that doesn't jive with the canon. The plot rests solely on the situation I've decided to create. Call it AU if it makes you happy.

So that's that. I hope you'll help me out by responding to the stories and letting me know which one you like better. I'm hoping this will be a successful experiment!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Don't own the characters, either. This plot may have been done 100 times, I don't know. But I'm pretty sure it hasn't been done exactly my way. Do me a favor and let me know if it's too similar to another story!

Blind-sided

Chapter 1: Prologue

"I really think you need a date!"

"And you need your head examined."

The spacious office on the second floor of the Kaiba Mansion was thick with uncomfortable tension. Two figures faced each other, engaged in what was clearly a standoff of epic proportions. Yes, Seto Kaiba, handsome, wealthy, rich, brilliant, reportedly ruthless CEO was trying desperately to avoid being set up on a date-- by his little brother.

"Come on, would it really be that bad?"

"Probably."

"When was the last time you really spent time with a girl?"

"Never."

Mokuba Kaiba raised an eyebrow at his older brother's clipped admission. Frankly, Mokuba was a bit disappointed. He had expected this to be a lot harder. After only three minutes of conversation, the younger Kaiba already had Seto right where he wanted him.

"Never? What, are you scared of girls or something? No wonder that kid in my Algebra class said you were--"

"I am NOT gay!"

Seto was especially touchy about the rumors of his apparent homosexuality. Honestly, just because he wasn't out in public with his tongue down some bimbo's throat...

"Well, what do you expect people to think? You could at least show a little interest."

The CEO sighed, cradling his chestnut head in his hands. He hated when Mokuba decided to run wild with some ridiculous idea. And the kid was disturbingly persistent.

"Interest? Mokuba, you know as well as I do that half the women in Domino are after me for my money."

Mokuba smirked. Actually smirked. "I'll find you a nice girl, I promise. Please, big brother?"

Seto could feel himself giving in under the hard-edged pressure of Mokuba's...little brother-ness. His traitorous head began to nod in assent. No. No! Tell me I didn't just agree to this!

Mokuba released a manic whoop and jogged merrily out of the room. "Mokuba! You better not try to set me up with Jounouchi's sister, or I'll--" He let the threat hang, realizing Mokuba was out of earshot.

All that was left, then, was Seto. A completely dumbstruck, shell-shocked Seto. What...what had just happened? Had he just agreed to let Mokuba set him up on a blind date?

Seto rubbed his temples wearily, dropping his expensive pen on top of a pile of urgent paperwork. "Damn it..." Not only was he swamped with work, now he'd have to endure an evening with whatever twittering fangirl or out and out hooker Mokuba dug up and shoved into his path. He was already bone tired, and this only made matters worse.

This was shaping up to be a terrible week.

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Mokuba skipped merrily down the hallway. This was shaping up to be a fantastic week. Finally he'd found the right time to get Seto to agree to the blind date. His plan could finally go into action!

Grabbing a cookie from the cookie jar and heading to the den to start working on his homework, Mokuba mentally reviewed the components of his brilliant scheme.

Lonely, overworked brother? Check.

Permission to meddle in love life of said brother? Mokuba pondered for a moment. Semi-check. He didn't want to get too far ahead of himself.

Suitable female companion? Oh, check check check! Mokuba giggled out loud. This was the best part. The choice of girl was, in fact, the chief reason why Mokuba had chosen to enact his plan at this particular time. He'd known for a long while that Seto was lonely (not that the older boy would ever under any circumstances, admit it), and that he needed someone other than Mokuba to give him a little affection. But it hadn't been until yesterday afternoon while visiting Yugi at the Kame Game Shop (one stop occasionally made on the way home from school that Seto most definitely did not know about) that Mokuba figured out exactly who that perfect 'someone' would be.

oooo Flashback oooo

The cards hung limply from Mokuba's hand as he observed the normally vibrant dark-haired girl. She was sitting in the corner, practically ignoring Jounouchi as he chatted to her about something. She wore a very uncharacteristic melancholy expression.

"Hey Yugi. What's wrong with Anzu?"

Yugi exchanged a glance with his taller counterpart, who was seated beside him on a couch adjacent to Mokuba. "Well, you see..."

Yugi fell silent, seemingly unable or unwilling to explain. Yami sensed that his partner was having trouble, and did his best to volunteer the information. "A matter of the heart, it seems."

Mokuba's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Matter of the heart?"

Yugi smiled sadly at the younger Kaiba. "Anzu was dating Otogi for awhile. It didn't end well."

Grey-blue eyes widened in understanding as Mokuba processed this information. So he...broke up with her? But why would he do that?

Yami spoke to Mokuba and Yugi in a low voice as the three surreptitiously observed Anzu. "She is hurting..."

Anzu's normally sparkling eyes seemed dull, her posture defeated. The small smile on her face appeared to have been put there deliberately, to pacify Jounouchi and Honda. In Mokuba's mind, there was something fundamentally wrong about a broken-hearted Anzu. She didn't deserve that. She was the best girl Mokuba could think of. She was beautiful, funny, smart, brave...Mokuba had admired her for a lot of reasons, ever since the day she helped him escape from the warehouse during Battle City.

So Otogi had dumped her? That was what it sounded like, at least. He must be a complete fool, because Anzu was almost perfect--

The wheels in Mokuba's mind clicked suddenly into place.

Perfect. She was perfect!

A tiny, devious smile crept onto Mokuba's face. Why hadn't he thought of it before?

ooooooooooooooo

Brushing the cookie crumbs off of his shirt, the black-haired boy opened his mathematics textbook. Anzu had actually been harder to rook into a blind date than his brother had. She was probably afraid Mokuba would set her up with a 12 year old or something. It had taken a solid week of pressure and watery-eyed begging before she finally cracked. Seto wouldn't know what hit him when he saw who he was going on a date with. And Mokuba privately hoped that Anzu wouldn't murder him.

The bright eyed young Kaiba was aware that the blind date was probably going to be an ugly mess. But with a little luck and some effort on his part maybe-- just maybe he could get the two of them to think about each other differently. And then, who could say?

Mokuba snickered, silently praying to the Gods or the Cupids or whoever was in charge of this stuff.

I hope this will shut up that jerk from Algebra class...

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That's it! The end of the prologue for this story. Are you intrigued? If this story is the one that gets continued right away, Seto and Anzu's date will be in the next chapter. Oh, and by the way. I know there's a story out there where Anzu pretends to date Seto to stop everyone from thinking he's gay (pretty good story, if I remember!). That isn't what's happening in my story. Those jokes about Seto's sexual orientation were purely for amusement. The plot of my story doesn't hinge upon it. Just wanted to tell you!

Make sure to let me know if you want this story to be continued! Otherwise you might have to wait awhile. It'll be added to eventually no matter what, though. I promise.

Drop me some reviews and let me know if you liked it!