Warning - Adult themes, slightly explicit content (I'm expurgating like crazy to make it work), some strong language.
---Ch2 - Shizuka Arrives
Mrs. Watson - hotel concierge
Richard - Anzu's business partner
Kaiba left the room quickly. If he were any man other than Kaiba, he would run. But Kaiba would not run. He paced a bit in front of the room. Finally, he stalked down to the front desk and chewed out the clerk up one side and down the other until the poor thing had to be relieved of duty for the evening. Exchanging Shizuka's key for his, he was about to leave when the new clerk pressed something else into his hand. "What's this?" "The connecting door key. Miss Kawai asked us to give you one." "Oh, okay," Kaiba reluctantly accepted the key. He stared at it for a minute, then asked "Is there a florist nearby?" "We have a floral service." The clerk directed him to the concierge's office.
The concierge, Mrs. Watson, was an older woman, solid but pleasant in her bun and tailored suit. "I would like to send some roses," Kaiba began, "or some other kind of flower. The color is more important, but I prefer roses." The concierge took down his instructions - carmel-colored roses in full bloom (to match her lingerie, he thought) with darker buds (to match the trim), and red curling foliage (to match her hair). "And the card, sir?" "On one side, Many Apologies; on the other, Many Thanks. To room 1684." The woman's face was bland, no judgment, only the desire to serve. If I had an army of employees like her, Kaiba thought, I could rule the world.
"Seto!" The girlish voice jolted him awake, just as Shizuka crashed into him as he left the concierge's office, hugging him fiercely. "It's been too long!" "Silly, I just saw you last week." Shizuka paused, long enough for Kaiba to disentangle her arms from around his neck, and laughed. "Of course, Fiji! Bizarre I didn't remember it." "No, Shizuka, not bizarre at all. More Shizuka-as-usual." Kaiba laughed. He laughed a lot when he was around Shizuka. They were the most unlikely pair, but their friendship had endured many years. At first he felt protective of her; she was alone when Jonouchi moved to the States. Then, as his own engagement crashed and burned, she supported him, stood by him and helped him live through the betrayal. At one time he had felt a burning passion for her, determined to marry her, but she refused. That had hurt him, even though he knew she was right. She deserved better than a rebound relationship. She had become almost a sister, and he was more than happy to bankroll her fashion efforts. That it turned out to be one of his best investments yet made it all the more sweet. Who knew Shizuka had such talent?
"Have you found your room?" she asked, walking along with him to the elevator. "No, not yet, I'm just going up. I did find your room, though. They gave me the wrong key." He flushed slightly, thinking of it. "Oh, really? Is Zuzu there yet?" Zuzu, he thought. Must be a nickname. "Mmm, she's there. Hey, what's this about a connecting door? I thought you weren't interested in a little midnight romping?" Shizuka laughed, "Of course not, Mr. Perv. I just thought it would be easier for us to hang out if you were just on the other side of the wall. You ignore your door so often when you're working, and I KNOW you'll be working." She pouted, then laughed again. She kissed his cheek goodbye and disappeared into her room. He stood outside, hearing her greet her friend excitedly. The girls jabbered cheerfully. Kaiba sighed and walked into his room.
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"Where have you been, Shizuka? I just got myself into a most interesting position." Anzu was sitting in the sitting room, clad in her same bodysuit, but this time with a dark blue velvet robe around her, just in case. "The most handsome man came in here. It put me in a rather embarrassing position." Shizuka laughed, "Oh, that's my fault. They somehow linked his name with mine and gave him my key. What happened?" Anzu blushed and told her friend everything. "What exactly did he see?" Anzu ripped off the robe and turned around. "This, Shizuka, this! I didn't know whether to curl and up die or rip his clothes off!" Oh, ho, Shizuka thought, that explained his blush. Shizuka never understood Anzu's inability to assess her own attractiveness, and she deplored the business camouflage Anzu favored. She dressed better in high school, Shizuka remembered. I blame Honda, she thought murderously. Then she shrugged to herself, if Anzu couldn't see what was right in front of her eyes, then she was as much at fault. But she was surprised by Seto's reaction. Maybe he does need a little midnight romp, she thought wickedly.
The rest of Shizuka's luggage was delivered at that moment, so Anzu rushed back into her robe. Anzu sat back on the sofa, legs crossed, chatting with Shizuka while she directed the porters. The men looked at them from the corners of their eyes, trying not to stare. "Goodness, Shizuka, what is all this stuff?" Shizuka shrugged. "I've been having so many orders I decided to bring all my materials with me." She frowned, tapping her nose. "Zuzu, can I switch bedrooms with you? I need the bigger one." Anzu looked up at her, exasperated. Shizuka upped the ante, "My bedroom has a bigger bathroom. With a spa tub." That's all it took. "Ok, ok, I'll move my stuff." Anzu was overjoyed. Traveling the world, she had spent way too many nights trying to shower in the tiny airport cubicles. She tossed her laptop on the bed and plugged in the fax machine. Working quickly, she finished up everything Richard had asked for, calling him as the last piece went out. "All done, funny boy. I'm going out to dinner, but call if there's a problem." It was almost time to meet the gang.
Pulling on one of her suits, she smoothed the front down and quickly braided her hair into a low twist. Kicking off her heels, she pulled out a pair of low pumps. "Why do you even have those killer heels if you just wear business pumps out?" Shizuka asked from the door. "Because I wear heels all the time. If I walk around barefoot for too long, I get leg cramps. Besides, they're special shoes, and they don't go with any of my suits." "I'll loan you some normal clothes, Zuzu. I would MAKE you some normal clothes if I thought you would wear them." "Don't bother," Anzu answered wearily, "with all the traveling I do I try to pack light." She kept a suitcase in every office, full of suits, pumps and toiletries. As she stopped off in one spot, she could grab a different suitcase, moving only her robe, lingerie, and stripper shoes, as Shizuka called them, to the new case, and be off again within minutes. "At least buy some new lingerie," Shizuka grumped. "You've outgrown those." Anzu nodded. "Next time I'm in Lyon, I promise." She wrapped a scarf around her neck, pushing it into her suit jacket. Shizuka grabbed her hands. "No, I will not allow you to cover yourself like that." She pulled the scarf off and draped it over Anzu's shoulder, then used a pin to cinch in the suit's waist, pulling her friend over to the mirror. Anzu stared in horror - her cleavage was pronounced, jutting up from the jacket. "Shizuka, I can't go out looking like this! I'm the President of Ascension! I have an image to maintain!" "You," Shizuka said pointedly, settling a necklace around Anzu's neck, "have an ex-boyfriend to drive crazy." Patting Anzu's hair, she grabbed her arm. The last thing Anzu noticed was the sapphire blue dragon resting between her breasts.
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A/N: thanks for the review, guys! i'm glad someone gets to enjoy it besides me.