Note: This an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while, but it's really taken on a life of its own. Hopefully it'll keep its momentum! Now, this isn't supposed to be any sort of social commentary or whatnot, it just sort of ended up this way.

Edit Note: Fixed a couple of grammatical mistakes and awkward phrasing. If you notice anything else, tell me.

Disclaimer: I don't own this- not the anime, not the manga, nothing. This belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

White Alice

Chapter One: Outbreak

He could hear her moving. It seemed like she was trying to move quietly, but the fabric of her dress was rustling too agitatedly for silence. He opened his eyes.

She was standing with the length of her dress tucked between her legs, trying awkwardly to hold it up with one hand and zip up the back with the other. Sighing, he rolled out of bed and reached for her. She smiled tentatively as he zipped her in, and bowed thankfully when he was done. "Thank you," she murmured in English.

He pushed her hair out of her face and handed her her purse. She smiled again, a little more confidently. "I'll have someone drive you home," he told her.

She looked instantly much happier. "Thank you very much. I was concerned about my… uh…" She looked away, flushing.

He understood, and was simultaneously amused at her shyness and grateful for her discretion. Most women did anything to stay or flaunt their status as a lover, however brief that status was maintained.

As was walking her to the door, he remembered he was naked.

"…I'll have someone show you out."

She giggled. It was a strange sound to hear in the Kaiba mansion.

(W/A)

Anzu's laughter had an edge to it.

"Seriously, guys, I think it's hilarious that every transfer student Domino had gotten has immediately shacked up with Kaiba! It's like he's a Nazi or something, right?"

Jonouchi and Honda laughed. Yugi frowned a little. "Anzu, you think he only likes Western women?"

Anzu's smile faded into a grim forced smirk that didn't suit her face well. "I certainly don't think he's helping all these poor girls who think they need surgery to look beautiful, that's for sure." The smirk faded into a grimace. "Did you know a place specializing in blepharoplasty and rhinoplasty opened up down the road from Burger World? Even Miho has been talking about going there for a consultation, and she's never had any issues before."

Jonouchi and Honda stopped laughing, suddenly aware that this was a serious conversation. "Blepharo-whatsit?" The blonde asked, genuinely curious.

"Eyelid surgery," Anzu answered. "To look more Caucasian. More white." She sighed. "Did anyone else notice Mitsuko has been excused from school for over a month?"

The boys lapsed into grim silence. Even Jonouchi looked a little disturbed, and shifted uncomfortably in preparation for what he suspected would be an uncomfortable subject. "Anzu… aren't you part white?"

Anzu, to his surprise, just nodded calmly. "Yeah. My Grandpa's white. My Dad too." She shrugged. "War brides and stuff like that, you know."

She didn't seem to mind it, so Jonouchi pushed the subject further. "So, have you…? With Kaiba, I mean?" Honda winced, and Yugi pushed scooted further down the cafeteria bench, looking wary.

Anzu looked disgusted. "Of course not! I said every transfer student, not everyone with a drop of white blood in them. Hell, he'd have jumped Bakura by now, if that was the case."

"But Bakura's a transfer student too," Jonouchi said. Anzu rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean. Anyway, the point is that he's not helping the problem. The instant he hooks up with a girl who's had a nose job and eyelid surgery, everyone in Domino is going to want it. Outside of Domino, too, if the Tokyo media gets wind of this." She paused, looking around the lunch room. "I'm amazed they haven't already. And look, Yuki Sato has gone blonde. Do you see?"

Jonouchi shrugged. "She looks good, though." Anzu shot him an angry look.

"You just don't get it. You just don't get it all."

(W/A)

"I met a girl, Big Brother."

"Hm?"

"Yes. She's very beautiful and smart. I think you'd like her."

"Hm."

"I was wondering, maybe, if she could come stay an evening with us later this week, Brother?"

"Mhm."

"Wednesday?"

"Hm."

"Thank you."

It took a moment for Seto Kaiba to comprehend what he had agreed to. When it had finally seeped into the part of his conscious brain that wasn't dedicated to the task at hand, he looked away from his computer screen, feeling a mounting sense of urgency. Mokuba had already retreated, and Kaiba recognized the wiseness of this. He had agreed to something, and Mokuba's leaving finalized it.

"Damn," he swore quietly. He still didn't feel Mokuba was old enough to trust when it came to women. Women were fickle, sneaky creatures.

He frowned for a moment, and then smirked a little. 'On the other hand…' He though that the fact that Mokuba had both informed him of this girl's existence and elected to bring her home for his approval were good signs. 'Perhaps I'm underestimating his maturity. After all, he has always been an exceptional boy.'

The addition of a 'like me' seemed wholly unnecessary.

(W/A)

It was Wednesday, and the day Mitsuko returned to school. She was visibly upset that only the delicate, popular Anzu had neglected to inform her of how beautiful her new eyes looked, but seemed to take solace in how many people said how natural her blue contacts looked with the change.

It evened out, she told Miho. It was all worth it.

Anzu wasn't happy when Miho decided that she was incredibly lucky and told her she was going to bring a photo of her to the clinic. "You're something real an Asian girl can shoot for, Anzu," Miho told her.

Anzu wasn't happy at all.

Even the presence of her new friends from Canada couldn't ease her discomfort, despite the fact that both were blissfully unaware of Seto Kaiba's existence. Just their lovely Caucasion faces caused her some pain.

The girls were sisters, half-Dutch, the younger sixteen and a year behind because of the difference in native curriculum, the older eighteen and taking courses at the local University. Elizabeth liked to visit her sister after school, when they all met outside school grounds. Anzu was sure her and Jonouchi's fluency in English was an attractive factor as well.

Of course, for Elizabeth, Jonouchi in general seemed to be an attractive factor.

Genia's presence at Domino High School had had an interesting effect, as well. People had declared that she and Anzu could be sisters, and were startled to learn that Genia was, in fact, fully white.

Both sisters had bright blue eyes and dark hair, dyed slightly differing shades of red, but Genia's eyes were oddly almond, and her lips much fuller and broader than her sister's. Elizabeth had a wider, squarer jaw and a slighter wider nose. Sitting at a picnic table in the shade of the trees, Anzu thought it was fascinating how alike they looked while looking so completely different.

Right now, Genia was chattering to Elizabeth in English about the exact subject Anzu's mind had been dwelling on.

"It's funny- Miho was- you know, the girl with the purple hair- do they even allow that at these schools? I thought they didn't." Genia stopped for a second, taking a bite of her sandwich. "But anyway, Miho was saying she wants to get a nose job. I can't imagine why. She's so beautiful. The weird thing is, though, she was saying she wishes she had my nose. Why would you want a lump on your nose? I don't get it." She shook her head, and Elizabeth frowned.

"Don't you remember? Kay was talking about this before we left."

Anzu's lolling head shot up. "What's this?"

Both sisters looked startled, but Genia recovered first. "Our cousin was talking about how a lot of Asian women want to look more white, but how a lot of white men like Asian women."She shrugged dismissively. "I think it's weird. Asian girls are so pretty."

Anzu poked a finger at her ziplock bag, shifting the leftover jelly left inside. "I think a lot of us need reality checks, Genia, but there are really no Asian women who in our media who haven't had surgery. It gets to you after a while."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah, but there are even white and black women back home who get surgery to look more Asian. Nobody's happy with how they look, anywhere."

As the girls fell silent, Anzu couldn't help but think that brooding seemed to be the theme of the day. 'It's hard not to be depressed by this,' she thought. 'At least these two haven't fallen prey to Kaiba yet, though.' She sighed audibly. Elizabeth, sitting across from her, seemed to be getting antsy.

She checked her watch with unnecessary impatience. "What do you think is keeping the boys so long?" she asked Anzu. Genia murmured something reassuring and launched into an excited exposition about her upcoming date. Anzu was about to answer herself when commotion broke out nearby. Her head whipped towards the noise.

"You've got no right to call me that, rich boy!" Jonouchi was yelling, barely restrained by Honda. "Maybe if you took your head out of your ass, I'd finally get a chance to hit that pretty face of yours!"

'And speak of the devil,' Anzu thought with black despair, because the only reason Seto Kaiba wasn't responding seemed to be because those cold blue eyes were fixed very interestedly on the still obliviously burbling Genia.

"I'm really excited to meet his brother tonight, guys," she said cheerfully. "I really hope he likes me!"