It's been a long time since I've written a Seto/Shizuka fic. Or SilentShipping as it is. For some reason I just couldn't get this idea away from me and I begrudgingly put it down. So here it is, I hope someone out there will enjoy this ^_^ Even if only a little. It's a bit different for me, I'm used to serious grim fics but I want to focus more on the trivials of love and you know the regular antics and angst that goes along with it. So, pulling my disclaimer out now: I DON'T Own Yugioh! I Don't! I DON'T Own the CHARACTERS, The Cards, the Milliennium Items, okay? Just the story. So...........ENJOY!
Summary: Seto Kaiba is a self-obsessed egomaniac; harsh & scarcely a nice thing to say. Shizuka Kawaii is one of the kindest people in the world "She touches every heart she meets...." But can this angel of a girl hope to melt a heart that's locked and frozen?
A Changed View
Chapter 01:
First Impressions…
"And the hours that pass only deepen my yearning to hold you. If I changed my ways, would I then be who you turn to?" Kaiba sat back down and placed the book back on his desk. Despite the emotion he placed in his voice, his face remained its usual indifferent self. How could someone so heartless, quote romanticisms like that? It was starting off to be another dull, same as usual Monday morning. And that went for every kid in the class. Sure school had its perks, yes… It really did. But after a while, you know, it gets so very routine and nothing ever really changes. No matter where you come from, what class you have, who you hang out with… five days a week, you were here. At school. With the same rhythmic monotone.
Their new appointed homeroom teacher applauded enthusiastically. "That was done wonderfully, Seto. Most impressive." Kaiba nodded as to acknowledge her gushing. Unlike their old teacher, Mrs. Kuchi, Miss Carroway, was a poet through and through. She apparently loved the written word and was from America, she fell in love with a Japanese man by the name of Jin Kawaro and the two moved to Japan so he could be close to his family. And she preferred "Miss" because "Mrs." makes her sound old. Oh, how in the world does the student body know this? Because her first day in class, she divulged in her life-story. She's also one of eight kids by the way…
"So, class. I know what you're thinking. What does that cheesy old poem have to do with our class today?" She picked up a stack of papers and began walking down each row, handing them out along the way. She beamed a starry-eyed gaze and pushed her glasses back up her nose, "Well, your assignment this week is to create a poem with the piece Seto read earlier as your theme and focus. The piece isn't for use but should be made a reference." She smiled innocently even as the classroom divided between squeals and groans.
Jounouchi leaned forward and nudged Yugi's shoulder with his pencil. "Just great. How the hell am I s'ppsed to come up wit' a lovey-dovey poem? Yug' this is the lamest thing I've ever heard. Our old teach' wouldn't do something like this." He whined. He shut his eyes in annoyance and shook his head.
Yugi's cheeks tinted a shade of red, "Uh J-Jounouchi…" He tried to get the blond's attention but he wasn't paying much.
"This is her dumbest assignment yet." He further muttered. Yugi raised his hands up. There was a bit of snickering among the classroom.
"Oh really, Katsuya? My dumbest assignment yet, is it?" She folded her arms across her chest and sighed exasperatedly. The blond boy was always sticking his foot in his overly animate mouth. It was ironic, she actually like the unruly boy, unfortunately he was such a glutton for punishment. "It's too bad Katsuya, that you don't like any of my classroom assignments. It really is a shame." She seemed slightly hurt about the snide comments and the blond actually felt a bit guilty about bashing something she personally loved.
"I'm sorry Miss Carroway." He muttered sheepishly.
Her smile returned soft and gentle. "Now then. This will be a team project as some of you aren't exactly eloquent in this particular department." She glanced down at him for a moment causing a bit more of a giggle fest. "You will be two to a team and must be of the same sex." There was a collective grumble of disappointment, mostly from the males. "The last thing I need is to get calls from your parents, especially some of you young Casanovas." She warned and her smile grew wry. Miss Carroway returned to the chalkboard behind her desk. "You will have one week to present your piece and it must be a co-op piece, meaning both members must have participated and each contributed to the finalized work." She could see a few of the students hiss under their breath but she did not acknowledge it. "As it is, there is a total of seventeen students, eight girls and nine boys."
Kaiba raised his hand. "Miss Carroway, I would like to work this project alone." Though his words were polite it sure came off as a set statement.
She took his request with great thought, "I think that is the best solution here. I would rather everyone partner with someone but considering the situation, I'll allow it." She nodded and picked up a copy of the paper she handed everyone else. "This sheet explains everything I've already said as well as some further ideas you can use to help bring your creative side out onto paper. Now then, you have the remainder of the class period to pair up and go over your project." She sat back down at her desk, pulled her glasses off and started cleaning them. "Oh once you've found your partner, please come up here so I can write your names in my notebook."
Honda tapped Jounouchi on the back of his head, "Hey man, what do ya think about this project again?" He smirked not able to quit laughing.
"Haha, very funny Honda." The other muttered. He turned to his right, to face his long time friend. "So, you wanna partner up?" He asked, it would be either him or Yugi, of course.
Honda looked over at Yugi. "Hey, Yugi who you gonna partner with? I'm gonna partner up with big mouth here." He asked. He mused over the low mumblings of his blond haired friend.
"Uh, I don't…" His eyes went wide and he smiled. He stood and rushed over to Ryou Bakura who was just about to be swarmed by the other guys in the classroom. "Hey Ryou, do ya want to work on this with me?" He asked hopeful. To be honest, Yugi wasn't so good with the whole poetry shtick either. But everyone knew that the soft-spoken Ryou was always reading a different book every week.
"That's a great idea. I'd love to Yugi." He smiled genuinely and the two engaged in an irrelevant conversation.
Honda and Jounouchi shared the same look of annoyance and envy. "Dammit, I forgot that Ryou was in this class. I could've gotten an exceptional grade for once." The blond sighed in defeat. He kicked the ground and hung his head.
"Dude I'm right here." His friend feinted offense. The other gave him a reality-check glare and he relented, "Yeah, I know. We're doomed." The blond nodded in agreement. He nudged him on the shoulder, "Come on, let's go sign our life away." He tugged on his friend's sleeve. The two gave one last glare to the pair of soft-spoken boys as they laughed over some witty joke shared only between them.
Kaiba got up to leave, after all it was ten minutes to the end of the period. The Great and Powerful Seto Kaiba was allowed to leave class earlier than the rest as long as his work was complete and he already copied the homework off the board. He collected his things and was out the door. 'Another pointless day, another worthless assignment.' He exhaled heavily and turned the corner.
Meanwhile...
'Oh my gosh! I'm so late! I can't believe how late I am! Everyone's gonna expect me to be a total slacker from the get-go. I was so happy about seeing Katsuya again that I couldn't get to sleep and argh, I'm so behind already! I hope the teacher isn't ticked off!' She ran through the hallways, trying in earnest not to get caught by any teachers or authority figures. "Okay, the first class is almost done, but I will at least have enough time to apologize and introduce myself to the class and… her name is Mrs. Carroway, I think. I hope this is the right hallway!" She closed her eyes and ran even harder. 'I wonder if Katsuya is in that class… I would love to have every day start with seeing his smiling face…'
As she opened her eyes and focused them in front of her, she gasped and then screamed as she ran smack into another student, she fell hard against him. "Gah, I'm so very sorry!" She shouted and quickly jumped off, the brightest blush coloring her features. She quickly covered her embarrassed face. "I was trying to get to my class and I wasn't paying attention… I'm sorry!"
Kaiba sat up and furrowed his brow and glanced down at his abandoned case and his cell-phone. "Yeah, you've said that several times already." He pointed out coldly and sighed in annoyance. He picked up his phone and briefcase and stood. "Daydreaming while running is not very smart. In fact it's absolutely idiotic." He scolded as he stood.
Shizuka's eyes widened slightly, the tone and remark caught her off guard. "Hey. I know it was my fault but that doesn't give you the right-"
He ignored her and hit speed dial on his phone and, to his ear, began walking away. Her eyes narrowed as he passed her. Did... he just... brush me off?' Forgetting where she was supposed to be, she turned and quickly approached him before he got too far away. "Hey you…" She started and grabbed him by the arm. Kaiba stopped in mid-stride and muttered something akin to 'call you back later' and hung up. There was a standstill for a few seconds that felt an awful lot longer than so. 'Uh oh, what am I doing? No really..? What the heck am I doing?' This wasn't like her at all. She wasn't the confrontational type, but he had been such a jerk and she was not accustomed to such disrespect. She hoped not all the students would be this way.
He finally faced her, for the first time, with those endlessly cold blue eyes. She felt her body shiver underneath such harsh scrutiny. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked and shook her arm off. Her face flushed and she looked down at the floor. He studied her for a moment. 'What is she doing out here while classes are still in session? Who does she think she is?' Kaiba sighed softly, "You're obviously not from a respectable home. With manners like that I would imagine you're some pathetic lower-class individual." He concluded and made to leave.
Her gaze shot up and she clenched her fists. 'This guy… I swear…' "Hey, what makes you think you can talk to me like that?!" She fumed. 'Why is he being so mean to me?' She didn't understand at all.
Kaiba found her outburst amusing. He took in her lithe features and shook his head lightly. "Because you're utterly and irrefutably beneath me." His tone was sharp and matter-of-fact.
She could feel her anger rising, which was absolutely a rare sight, Shizuka never held a grudge and she rarely ever grew truly upset. "How dare you. You're nothing but a egotistical bully! You don't know the first thing about me, you pompous wannabe dictator!" She growled, she could feel her eyes stinging with tears ready to burst. She was the type that when upsetted, would start crying. And this time Shizuka really did not want to, not in front of this monster.
The brunet smirked interested. This was definitely an intriguing twist to his usual tedious Mondays. "Well it looks as if this lower-class princess has quite the vocabulary." His smirk grew even wider. "Yes. Quite the pedigree pup we have here." He further teased.
Her face reddened exceptionally. "Pedi… P-pup..?! I'm not some stupid dog!" She stammered and could feel her blood boiling in her veins. "What is your problem?!"
Kaiba rolled his eyes and exhaled tiredly. "You are quite the annoyance, a real pain. My problem, though I have little reason to explain myself to a childish little girl, is I have something important I need to get done before next class starts and I don't need a daydreaming princess tackling me down like a wild miniature beast." He replied.
Shizuka hated foul language very deeply but there were a few she wouldn't mind using right now. "I'm not some foul beast either. You're the one..." she huffed. "I said I was sorry about earlier. I was trying to find Mrs. Carroway's class but got lost in this huge school so I was running because I was late!" She explained.
Kaiba shrugged. "I didn't ask for an excuse for your obstreperous behavior. Nor, do I even care. If it was such a problem you should've asked the front desk for assistance. Then again, you probably lost your way back to it after running around like an idiot." He sneered and started walking in the direction he had just been leaving from.
She followed after him, she didn't know why. He was a jerk, a total jerk and she knew someone like him would never apologize to anyone but… "Stop insulting me. I hope you're not like this on a daily basis because your behavior is absolutely deplorable. I'd hate to be the friend or girl that finds themselves with you." She growled.
Kaiba smirked. 'She's like a yapping Chihuahua. Thinks she's something, but all she is, is a measly waste of time.' They turned the infamous corner and continued down the hallway. "Hn. I can already tell, you're a broken record. How many times are you to shout before you realize I don't care about a thing you have to say?" He asked and stopped before a closed door.
She almost bumped into him but quickly caught herself in time - didn't want a repeat of how this all started... Shizuka opened her mouth to retort but he opened the door and her gaze quickly flew to the classroom and the people inside. She stared in confusion and turned back to the blue-eyed tormentor, "This..?"
Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Such slow response… It's imbecilic. What do you think?" He muttered and pushed her slightly inside. She gasped lightly and had the eyes of the classroom and teacher directly on her. She blushed lightly and was a bit stage fright.
Miss Carroway approached them eagerly. "Seto, who is this?" She asked eyeing the girl up and down.
"Shizuka?" A familiar voice to both Kaiba and the dumbstruck girl called out. She turned to see her older brother, mouth agape and shocked. He moved to also approach but the teacher pointed a daring finger at him.
"Katsuya, sit down. The bell has not rung yet." He started to whine but sat down with a pout as she gave him a cool glare. Shizuka's expression softened at her brother's antics. The teacher put her finger to her chin and her eyes shifted to the right for a moment in recollection. "Uh hello." She mumbled sheepishly.
'Right. She acts so innocent now. Two-faced… hey, how does she know the mutt anyway?' "I found her in the hallway wandering about, like a lost child." He answered, "She said this was her class."
"Oh! Of course!" The teacher went to her desk and shuffled about her papers.
Shizuka felt his presence behind her. Her brow twitched in irritation. "Lost child?" She mumbled quietly in his direction without turning.
He smirked, she could tell even without seeing it, "Oh right. Should I have said, 'lost stray'?" He replied. She lifted her foot a bit and stepped down on his. He bit his lip to keep from yelping in pain. She continued to smile and it brightened considerably. 'Tch. Damn beast.' He glared at her momentarily, and then reverted to his indifferent self.
"I forgot all about your arrival. Miss, Shizuka Kawaii, isn't it? Welcome to the class, though it is almost over." She greeted with a smile and gentle laugh. "Thank you for bringing her to the class, Seto. Everyone, this is Shizuka Kawaii, she has transferred here from Obidoh, and will be with you for the remainder of the school year.
Jounouchi's face was wide-eyed with shock. Inside so many things filled his usually empty head. 'Shizuka…? Here? What happened? Why didn't she tell me 'bout this before? Transferred… What's she doin' with that asshole Kaiba?' "Thank you so much. Hello everyone. I'm so sorry for being late but I promise I won't be late again. I had a terrible start this morning but I look forward to being here." She smiled brightly. Jounouchi did as well. 'Shizuka… is actually here.'
"Okay well, now let's see. There aren't many empty seats in this class. There's that one at the very back on the second row or that middle one on the third. Which desk would you like?" She asked enthused.
Shizuka didn't like being crowded so the decision was easy to make. "The one at the back is fine." She answered. 'I wish I could've gotten a spot near Katsuya but… I guess it couldn't be helped.' She smiled and waved to her brother.
The teacher caught the action and turned a curious eye, "Do you know Mr. Jounouchi, Shizuka?"
"Oh yes, ma'am, that's my brother." She beamed proudly.
She heard Kaiba chuckle lightly. "That explains it all." He mused and shook his head. She turned her attention to him and glared. Obviously he wasn't just having a bad day… He apparently was a jerk by nature.
"What didja say Moneybags?" Jounouchi growled, stood and was instantly in front of the frosty CEO despite Miss Carroway's pleas. "You talkin' bout my sister?"
Kaiba was unflinching and smirked even broader, "I just realized why she reminded me so much of a lower-class unimportant mutt… And it turns out, it's because she is one - being related to you." Shizuka huffed and brought her hands to her face. She knew how protective her brother was of her.
"You fuckin' prick!" He growled and went to punch the cold-hearted brunet in the face. Kaiba pushed Shizuka out of the way, which the blond was so blinded by his anger he didn't take into consideration his wide-eyed sister was in-between them, and met the fist head on. There was a collective string of surprise and a few hidden chants of 'fight, fight, fight' somewhere in the small classroom.
Kaiba stood to his feet, having been knocked down by the blow. It wasn't every day the blond landed a hit, 'Tch. Stupid little…' He glared at the mutt's sister for a moment as she stared back at him from her position on the ground. "Lucky shot, Mutt. Hitting your superior, your Master and all. But your luck won't land another for you." He dropped his 'case to the floor and effectively punched the other back. Everyone 'eeped' at the speed.
"That is enough! You two have crossed the line! Suzumiya, Hiraku, go get the principal and Mr. Hyo!" She exclaimed. The two students nodded and headed out, desperately sneaking passed the two riled teens. Kaiba stood over him and wiped the bit of blood from his busted lip. "Seto, get away from him this instant." Carroway warned.
Kaiba spared her a moment's notice but then turned his attention to the spurting mutt. "Out of your league, you pathetic dog." He muttered. The brunet glared at Shizuka. "And that goes for your sister too." He added and went for his briefcase.
"You can mock me all ya want." The blond started and stood up, "But I'll be damned if I let you diss my little sister!" He growled and tackled the brunet down. They spent a moment glaring heatedly at one another.
Shizuka stood up and rushed to his side, "Katsuya, it's okay!" She screamed and pleaded.
Kaiba pushed the labeled 'Mutt' off and punched him once more. He earned himself a kick in the process. The girl called out again, Honda and Yugi trying to drag the blond away from the other but it was hopeless. Even the teacher had given up and retrieved a vial of aspirin from her desk. The bell had long since run and now there were students outside in the hall, waiting to enter and the students doomed to be late as Kaiba and Jounouchi wrestled it out at the threshold of the doorway.
"What is going on here?!" Mr. Hyo shouted as he broke through the crowded hallway and grabbed both teens by the back of their shirt collars, effectively prying them apart. The two huffed out of breath and adrenaline still pumping. You could just about see sparks jaggedly attacking one another through eye-contact. Mr. Hyo was one of three Gym Coaches and was well acquainted with the two boys. He was often called to break up their fights in particular since the two seemed to lose touch with reality once they went at it.
"My office. NOW!" The two peered behind their Coach to see the Principal, Mr. Mikame, whom appeared royally pissed.
Shizuka shook with slight panic and fear. She'd never seen her brother like that. 'W-who was that? It- it wasn't really Katsuya was it? I've never… I…' As they were hauled off, Jounouchi managed to catch glimpse of his sister's tear stricken face and his anger diminished instantly. "Shizuka… I'm…" He whispered, unsure if she could hear him. Mr. Hyo dragged them towards the office. Everyone sighed in an overwhelmng swarm. Shizuka tried to wipe the tears from her eyes and was surprised when a girl with blue eyes and brown hair knelt beside her and smiled warmly.