Yu-Gi-Oh! and all its characters, are the legal and intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi and any entities he has granted legal rights to. I claim no rights at all with my story. I greatly admire Mr. Takahashi for the amazing story and characters of Yu-Gi-Oh!

This is a little bit of fluffy, romantic writing in anticipation of Valentine's Day. Just a couple of author notes to hopefully minimize confusion.

In my massive story, Respect, it developed that the box Yugi kept the unsolved Millennium Puzzle in (and then later, his deck) had been made by Mahaad -- and that box, the Magic Box, archived some of Mahaad's magic. He was able to use that magic, and the box itself, as he became stronger as the Dark Magician, to create a pocket dimension where all the monsters of Yugi's deck could congregate between duels. The pocket dimension also became known as the Magic Box.

I am using the effect of the card "Baptism of Light and Darkness" (sort of) in this story.

An "EverySue" is a variation of Mary Sue that I'm playing with. Hopefully it is not as cumbersomely open-ended as a "chose your fate" or you-insertion, but vague enough to not have the typical hallmarks of an annoying Mary Sue. My apologies if I botched it.

Reflections of Me

It is late, perhaps too late to see her today. For some reason, though all I wanted to do was get away from the Magic Box, come here, and talk with her, everything conspired to keep me away. There was that duel and that threw everything off. Then, for whatever reason, various unrests among the monsters of the Magic Box erupted into full-blown arguments and tempers had to be soothed. I'd been actively on call the entire day, and I was weary.

I can feel the pattern of energy emanating from her house that tells me her computer is still on. I shake my head and smile wryly. My poor darling pushes herself too hard sometimes, writing when she should be sleeping, trying to answer the call of her heart toward writing, while fulfilling her obligations to the job she pursues in her world during the day as well.

I can at least see her for a little while and coax her to bed. She really must learn to take better care of herself. Getting sufficient sleep is high on that list.

She is in her computer room, but the keys are silent. The screen flickers with the programmed screensaver for she is sleeping, dozing, more accurately, on her arms in front of her keyboard. My back aches just looking at the hunched-over position she's in.

Ah -- the way she has her head turned and pressed into her forearm. She's got one of her monster headaches again. Trying to master the pain of it is what caused her to fall asleep in such an odd position in front of her computer. Well, I can do something about this.

My hand brushes the mouse, deactivating the screensaver as I reach toward her. I rock back in surprise. She hadn't been writing before she fell asleep. She'd been working on art instead. The specific picture is one of me, but not of me as Mahaad, or even as the Dark Magician. No, she'd been working on a picture of me as the Magician of Black Chaos.

She tries, she really does, to understand my nature and how I can be, in a way, so many, different monsters. I've tried to explain it, that each of them is still me, but with different aspects of my personality highlighted in each of them, but still... Full comprehension eludes her. I'm not surprised. It almost eludes me as well.

I know she fears Chaos. She's not worried that I will do anything harmful to her when I am Chaos, but there is just something about how I am when I am Chaos that she fears, deep within her heart. I don't mind. Such fear as she holds is not a distrustful one. It's not one born of reason. How can I blame her for her instincts? She has no control over them.

And, I admit, in a way, her instincts might be right. When I'm Chaos I'm much less restrained. Chaos is the 'wild boy' of my personality, so he's certainly not what she's used to from me. He's sarcastic, snarky, borderline selfish, inclined to simply do what he wants, or take what he desires, thinking of his own wishes first, and the other person's second. He'd never hurt her, I'd never hurt her, when I'm Chaos, but unsettling her...

My lips curve up in a smile. Unsettling her seems like a perfectly delicious plan right now. Being Chaos right now seems like a perfectly fitting idea, too. Honestly, today wore me ragged! I'd wanted to shout at some of my fellow monsters, for they were being selfish and stupid, but I'd held my tongue, being the voice of reason, the peacemaker... Maybe I should just go Chaos on them next time and let them all see that they can't always rely on me to take care of their petty differences. I'd never thought about doing that before, but, the idea has merit.

So does this one. With my dark magic, I invite the combined energies of both light and darkness into my soul, changing me from the powerful, kindly Dark Magician into the dangerous, unpredictable Magician of Black Chaos. I set my staff aside, for I won't need it, and reach down to take her shoulders between my hands. She stirs at my touch, waking fully when I drive my thumbs firmly into the knots that have formed in the muscles of her shoulders.

"Uhhhm," she sighs, arching her back up against my ministering hands. "That feels so good!"

I smile, hidden in the shadows of the darkened room behind her and the knowledge that she won't turn and look at me -- just yet. She has no idea I'm Chaos instead of Dark Magician. This should unsettle her -- but good!

The tension in her back finally eases under my hands. I step forward to press my hips against her shoulders and wrap my arms around her as I bend over her in an embrace. Her arms reach up along my arms, seeking to encircle my neck in a return embrace. My right cheek just skims along her left one as her questing touch reveals the texture of a metal buckle at my shoulder, instead of the swirl of armor she expects.

I take an unholy delight in how her eyes snap open at the revelation of who is embracing her. She stiffens and goes still, turning her eyes and her head just enough to confirm what she knows to be true, by glancing at my smirking face.

"Hullo, darling," I rasp at her on a chuckle.

"Ch-Chaos!"

"You were expecting, perhaps, Dark Magician? No, he's taking the night off." I laugh at her consternation.

"Oh, uhm, well... I should be getting to bed. It's late and I have to work tomorrow..." she stammers. She's always doing this, whenever I go Chaos. She's gotten used to seeing me as Dark Sage, for honestly, he's not much different than how I am as Dark Magician, except for his power in duels; and I know she loves it whenever I don the armor, sword and courtly manner of Dark Magician Knight, but she's yet to reconcile that I am still Mahaad when I'm Chaos. She's called me 'Mahaad' in every guise but this one. To her, when I am this way, I am 'Chaos'. She's never addressed me as anything else. And I know she fears me.

Settling that fear is what I want to do, but there's no reason she can't experience the full thrill of it first. I grin wickedly at the thought.

I turn, reach down suddenly, delighting in her gasp of surprise, and take her up into my arms. Her eyes are wide and fearful, confused too. I deepen that confusion by leaning my head forward and kissing her.

And this is where, below her fear, in her deepest heart, though she doesn't know it, she still recognizes me. My kiss is demanding, but not harsh. I'd never hurt her. Startle her, certainly, with profound glee on my part -- but harm her? No. She responds to my kiss, her arms encircling my neck finally, before she even realizes what she's doing.

So, I end the kiss abruptly and pull back, forcing her to see what she's done. Her eyes open, and widen, her face staining a dramatic shade of red as I grin with self-satisfied pride, pinning her gaze with my intent almost-glare. It's so much fun to discomfit her!

"It's time to take you to bed." I deliberately utter this with a throaty growl. My reward is the alarm that fills her eyes.

"Ch-Chaos! No, we can't! That is...!"

Poor sweetheart. I'd take pity on her if I were Mahaad, Dark Magician, Dark Sage -- really, any other aspect, but Chaos, well, when I'm Chaos I have a heart of steel, a bit of a mean-streak and a rather twisted sense of humor, too. So, I kiss her again, as demanding as before, and as hot and avidly as my normally controlled -- repressed even -- urges demand.

And she, confused darling that she is, responds. Oh, her heart knows me! She responds in kind, her ardor a match for mine, until...

She surprises me. Me! When I am trying to surprise and shock her. How dare she do that? How dare she relax so completely in my arms? I am Chaos! She fears me! Fears, but in a sort of shivery, delighted way, knowing that even though she fears me, she is safe in my arms, as safe as she would be if I were Dark Magician, or Mahaad...

I pull back again, as my surprise deepens. That -- hasn't happened before. Her heart has never been so open to me before. Somehow, perhaps in how she matched my kiss, our hearts -- aligned. Her heart brushed up against mine giving me this glimpse into why she fears Chaos. I look down into her eyes. I smile. The knowledge her heart gave me -- she doesn't even recognize it. She has no idea it's in her, and thus, no idea that I could know. This is perfect!

She knows that under all the trappings of the Magician of Black Chaos, under the leather and buckles, under the seeming selfishness, sarcasm and snarkiness, I am still me. I'm still Mahaad. I still love her, I'd never hurt her, and she knows, even though she doesn't know that she knows, that she is as safe with Chaos as she is with Dark Magician.

She fears me with -- a welcome fear, so to speak. Not knowing what to expect, attempting, vainly, to brace for surprises lets her revel in the wild side in me that would permit her to acknowledge the wild side in herself, too. The part she normally controls, and represses. So, that is why she fears me, when I'm Chaos. She doesn't even know, she has no hint at all, that it's there -- that there is a 'Chaos' in her, too.

Well, well. Such an interesting thing for my teasing, little game to discover! For now, chaotically, I kiss her forehead, lightly, pushing her weary, confused mind into sleep before carrying her to her room, placing her on her bed, and drawing the covers up. A swift brush of my hand and power across her brow dispels the headache ensuring she will wake rested and well tomorrow. Let her morning be disarrayed trying to make sense of our encounter tonight. She doesn't need to fight against a headache, too. I turn off the bedroom light, and leave.

I'm going to have such fun, Chaos is going to have such fun, drawing the chaos out from her. It's going to take a while. She's going to fight me every step of the way. But, when she finally admits it, when she finally surrenders, well...

Chaos to chaos, heart to heart, it's going to be more magical than anything I could have dreamed. And, I'm sure, anything she's ever dreamed, too.

-end-

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Author's notes:

I really should know better than to post this here. Still, writing is about trying new things, right? Hopefully, some readers are amused, and not offended, by this little story.

Why, yes, Mahaad/Dark Magician and his other incarnations (Dark Sage, Magician of Black Chaos, etc.) are my favorite characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! However did you guess?

Reviews, comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome! Please feel free to email or message me if you see something awkward that needs to be clarified or fixed. I need all the help I can get.