Alright, I'm so sorry for not writing this sooner. A lot has been going on. And is still going on. But I finally got this done. I hope you enjoy this. Please R&R. (Read and Review) thanks for being patient with me.
- Eltaur of Gondolin
Seto's POV
"Class, I'd like you to meet your new classmate, Tabitha Shepherd." The teacher said kindly, motioning to the girl in the doorway. A shiver ran down Seto's spine as the strange feeling spiked a little.
"I'm so sorry for being late." Tabitha said, shutting the door behind her. A small apologetic smile appeared on her face as she slowly brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. The teacher just smiled back.
"That is alright, dear, we haven't started yet. Why don't you take a seat over there by Joseph and then we will begin." She said motioning over to the empty desk next to a rough looking blond who waved at Tabitha and gave a goofy grin. Usually Kaiba would have rolled his eyes at Joey's actions or shot some smart comment at him but his eyes couldn't leave the strange girl, as if something would happen when he wasn't looking. Tabitha nodded to the teacher and walked over to the empty desk. As she passed Kaiba's desk she turned her head slightly to look at him. And for a second, her gray/blue eyes met Kaiba's blue eyes. At that moment, to Kaiba, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. He quickly avoided her eyes as they seemed to cut and dig through him, as if trying to find something deep inside him. To Kaiba it felt as if her gaze lasted for hours but soon the slow motion moment was over. Not looking at her eyes he watched as Tabitha walked over to her desk and sat down, shooting a kind smile at Joey as she hung her back pack on the back of her chair.
The teacher clapped her hands to get every one's attention. Kaiba slowly tore his gaze away from Tabitha and tried to focus on the lesson. I can't let her distract me. Kaiba kept repeating in his head. Tabitha is just another student. But he couldn't shake the strange feeling.
The teacher walked around to all the desks and put a face down paper on all of them.
"Now class remember how we have been discussing the Normandy Invasion? Well today we will be having a pop quiz on it, so I hope you all studied hard. And Tabitha, dear, since you were not here, just try to answer what questions you can."
"Yes, Mrs. Wattson." Tabitha replied. After Mrs. Wattson had passed out all of the quiz sheets she walked back to her desk and sat down in her chair. Looking at her watch she said:
"You can begin… Now."
Kaiba flipped the quiz sheet in front of him over, picked up his pencil and tried to read the first question. He read it three times before he could think of the answer. Seto felt uneasy, the unfriendly kept nagging at him. Come on Seto, focus.
Slowly he worked down the page. Each time the feeling seemed to lessen a little. Right as he wrote down the answer to the last question, the school bell rang. Usually he would have been done long before. What is wrong with you Kaiba?
"And class, remember that tomorrow we will be going on a field trip to the museum." Mrs. Wattson said as students immediately left their quiz sheets and gathered their back packs to leave. Kaiba was the first one out of the class room. He had to get by himself for a moment. While the feeling had lessened it was still there. He quickly walked into the boy's bathroom, hoping no one else was in there, so he could have a few moments to relax. The young CEO had never felt this way before. To his luck no one else was in the room. Kaiba stood in the middle of the floor, took a deep breath and held it for a second before letting it out.
"Come on Seto, get yourself together." He said just under his breath as he walked over to where the sinks were. Leaning on the counter top he stared at himself in the mirror for a moment before straightening up and walking toward the door. I've got this, I won't let Tabitha distract me. He thought to himself for the hundredth time. The feeling soon vanished completely as he walked quickly to his locker. Nobody was paying any attention to him. Now he started to feel more relaxed and collected. He hoped that the rest of the day would be like this and that he had no other classes that he shared with Tabitha.
"Oh, hi Kaiba." Came a voice behind him. Kaiba stopped and turned toward the voice. Yugi stood there with a concerned smile on his face.
"What do you want?" Kaiba asked in a 'not so happy' tone.
"I just wanted to check and see if you were ok." Yugi said kindly. Kaiba was confused. Why would Yugi think something was wrong?
"Why wouldn't I be?" he shot back.
"Well, you seemed a little nervous in history today so I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Kaiba turned back towards the way of his locker.
"I'm fine, Yugi. Now leave me alone." He shot as he started to walk toward his locker, once again. Hoping that Yugi wouldn't follow and pester him.
When he reached his locker he opened the door and put all the books he wouldn't need until a different class in it, all standing up neat and organized. As he did so he started to think back to his run in with Yugi. Did he really look nervous enough that others noticed? Kaiba shook his head to clear it. If you keep this up, Kaiba, you're going to do poorly in the rest of your classes. Kaiba tried to concentrate on what class he had next. Math. Ok, that should be easy. Unless Tabitha is in the same class.
"Arrgg. There you go thinking about that again. Stop it." Kaiba whispered angrily to himself. He took a few deep breaths to collect himself. Ok, you've got this. He closed the locker door and, turning around, quickly headed to class. As he turned a corner he collided with someone. The books he was carrying fell to the ground as well as the ones the other person was carrying.
"Oh, pardon me." Said the other person. Kaiba quickly got his bearings. And he realized who he had run into.
"Tabitha!" At that moment the strange feeling returned, hitting him like a stone. Kaiba felt something like icy claws run down his spine as he felt her eyes on him. Kaiba quickly avoided eye contact.
"I'm sorry." She said in a kind voice. Tabitha knelt down and started picking up the books. Kaiba did the same. Still avoiding her eyes.
"I'm sorry." Tabitha said as she stood up.
"I have to go." She brushed past Kaiba and quickly headed down the hall. Kaiba turned and watched her go for a moment. As she walked away he felt the strange feeling start to fade. He shook his head to try to clear it. He quickly continued his way to class. As he walked he tried to collect himself once more. He was about ten feet away from the classroom door when the bell rang. Students started to run trying not to be late for their classes.
During math class the strange feeling had faded into nothing and after that Kaiba quickly got to all his classes without any more run-ins with Tabitha. At one point Yugi came up to him again asking if he was doing better. Kaiba glared at him, saying that he was fine and could take care of himself and that he didn't need someone checking to see if he was doing fine every minute of the day. Why can't he just leave me alone? Soon all of Kaiba's classes were done and he was walking toward the main doors to leave. I probably should stop at Kaiba Corp. and see what work I can get done there. He thought as he reached the open doors.
"Oh, Rich Boy." Came a voice from behind him. Kaiba groaned loudly but kept walking.
"I don't want to hear it, Wheeler." He said back. Joey and Tristan came up beside him.
"So, Kaiba, what'd you think of Tabitha?" Tristan asked. Joey gave a goofy grin
"She's pretty nice and she knows a lot of good comedy acts and-"
"I don't want to hear it Wheeler!" Kaiba shouted, cutting Joey off. The last thing Kaiba wanted was to talk about Tabitha. Joey's smile vanished and he grumbled something under his breath.
"Gees Kaiba, you don't have to shout." Tristan said, a look of annoyance on his face.
"Oh come on Tristan lets go find Yugi and Taya." Joey said to Tristan motioning to go in a different direction. Kaiba walked to the side of the road, snapping out his cell phone and speed dialing his driver, telling him that he was ready to be picked up. Within five minutes, Kaiba's limo parked in front of him and he got into the back seat.
"Take me to Kaiba Corp. Headquarters." The young CEO ordered.
"Yes sir," Replied the driver as he put the car in gear and began to drive down the road. Traffic wasn't as bad as it was earlier that morning but it was still slow. Everything was pretty quiet right then. No school bells ringing, no one, mainly Yugi and his friends, bothering him, no teachers giving lectures, just the quiet hum of the limo's engine. Kaiba took a deep breath as he looked out his window at all the slow moving vehicles. Within seconds he felt his eyes start to close and he fell half asleep, his head resting against the window. In what seemed to Kaiba to be a few seconds the limo's engine turned off.
"Mr. Kaiba, we're here, sir." Said the driver. Kaiba became fully awake at the sound of the driver's voice. He quickly grabbed his brief case and stepped out of the car. The young CEO gave a curt nod to the driver motioning that he could dive off now. He watched for a second as the limo drove off, probably to pick up Mokuba. And with that Seto Kaiba walked into his company's headquarters. The lady at the front desk gave him a warm smile.
"Good day Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba gave her a quick nod before heading toward the elevator. Once in, he pressed the button to go to the top floor and watched as the doors closed and elevator car started to move. He leaned against the back of the car as it went up. He sighed in relief. Soon he would be in his nice quiet office where he could focus on his work. The elevator made a ding sound as it reached the correct floor and the doors slid open. Kaiba casually walked out and went down the hall. About half way down he stopped at the door with a sign that said 'Seto Kaiba: CEO' in gold letters. He turned the door knob and walked into his office. It was a large room with light lavender walls and a dark wooden floor. The wall opposite of the door was made completely of glass and over looked Domino City. A large mahogany desk sat a few feet from the windowed wall, facing the door. Kaiba walked over to his desk and sat in the black leather office chair. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the scattered paper work all over his desk. I'll start with my email. The young CEO picked up the papers covering the key board and set then in a semi neat stack to the side. He logged onto his computer and began to check his email. Kaiba trashed all the junk mail and advertisements and started to open, read, and respond to the important ones. In the process he must have lost track because, after what seemed to him like a few minutes, he heard a knock at his door. When Kaiba looked up he saw the door open and his little brother step in.
"Hi Seto. Sorry to interrupt your work." Mokuba said just above a whisper, smiling at his older brother. He walked over to the small couch in the far left side of the room and flopped down on it, setting his school bag beside him.
"It's fine, Mokuba. I was just responding to some of these emails." The older Kaiba said, looking back at the computer screen. His hands flew over the key board.
"How was the field trip?" He asked, not looking up from the screen.
"It was great. I got to see a lot of different painting techniques." Kaiba nodded in approval, still typing.
"Good." For a moment Seto's typing was the only sound in the room before Mokuba piped up with a question.
"Hey Seto? How long have you been here?" Kaiba stopped typing.
"Since school got out." He answered, leaning back in his chair.
"You've been sitting there since school got out?" Mokuba asked bluntly.
"Seto, dinner was like 3 hours ago, and look the sun's already setting." Kaiba looked behind him through the windowed wall. Flinching just a little at the stiffness in his neck. His brother was right; the sun was already setting over the city. The sky was filled with bright reds, oranges, and pinks. No clouds to be seen. He turned back to face his brother. He was leaning back on the couch and had that look of concern that he almost always had when Seto worked for a long time.
"I'm fine Mokuba. I'll get something to eat later." The older Kaiba said as he turned back to the computer screen and began typing again. He heard Mokuba sigh loudly.
"Come on, Seto. You've been sitting for too long. It's not good for you." Kaiba continued to type, not taking his eyes off the screen. He was starting to feel stiff, but he needed to finish his work.
"I just told you that I'm fine Mokuba." He glanced at his brother through the corner of his eyes. Mokuba crossed his arms and gave Kaiba that look that meant that he didn't like what his older brother was doing.
"Alright nii-sama, but would you at least go for a little walk? I can tell you're getting stiff." Kaiba stopped typing again, and he leaned back in his chair. He turned his head toward his brother. Mokuba now had a pleading expression on his face. Kaiba sighed.
"Alright, you win. I go take a small walk in the park." Mokuba smiled when his brother finally gave in. Kaiba stood up and stretched out his arms.
"But, as soon as I get back I'm going to continue my work." Kaiba said as he started to walk toward the door.
"Well in that case, I'll go ask Roland to get you something to eat for when you get back." Mokuba jumped up and started to follow him.
"So you finally get me to go on a walk, and you're not coming?" Kaiba asked bluntly as he exited his office.
"I have to finish my homework." Mokuba answered as they started toward the elevator. Once they were in the elevator car Seto pressed the button for the lobby while Mokuba pressed the one for the floor where Roland was.
"Have fun, Seto." Said the younger Kaiba as he got off on his floor. Seto watched his brother through the closing doors. He smiled slightly, though no one was around to see it. He loved his little brother dearly, and would do anything if it meant keeping Mokuba safe. Being the younger brother of the president of Kaiba Corp. attracted some unwanted attention, but Seto would protect his little brother with his life.
The elevator soon stopped at the lobby and the doors opened. Kaiba walked out and headed for the main doors. At the front desk the same lady as before smiled warmly at him.
"Good evening, Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba didn't respond. He exited the building and started down the side walk toward the park. There was no traffic and only a few people were out walking. Within about ten minutes Kaiba had reached the park. He walked into the center of the park and sat for a moment on a nearby bench watching some kids play Frisbee while their parents sat and talked at the base of a tree. The sunset had started to fade as the sun disappeared, leaving the sky a blueish grey. Starting to get dark. I'd better head back. With that Kaiba stood up and started walking back. As he walked down the side walk street lamps started to turn on, the sky getting darker. The streets were almost empty and very few people were out. Kaiba walked past a few small shops and other businesses that were starting to close up. A man wearing baggy pants and a black short sleeved shirt was leaning up against the display window of a clothing outlet. Talking to another guy who was probably the shop owner. Kaiba ignored them and continued walking. After taking a few steps he felt a hand land on his shoulder and spin him around. Before he could react the man he saw leaning on the display window punched him hard in the stomach and threw him in an ally way. Kaiba quickly got back on his feet, he winced in pain from where he got hit. The man that hit him stood at the entrance of the ally, the guy he was talking to stood beside him quietly. The first guy sneered at Kaiba.
"Alright Kaiba, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." He growled.
"Oh really? You and what army?" Kaiba shot. And, as if on que, two more men stepped out from the shadows. One was short and heavy while the other was tall and thin. Both of them held pistols.
"Would you like to repeat that?" The tall thin man said in a deep voice. Oh, that's just great. As if the first two thugs weren't enough. Kaiba groaned. How was he going to get out of this one? He turned around looking for another way out, but it was a dead end.
"There's no way out Kaiba so I suggest not trying to run away." The first man sneered. At that moment Kaiba noticed movement in the shadowed corners. And, as if things couldn't get any worse five more men stepped out from behind boxes and trashcans. All of them holding some kind of weapon. He was surrounded. Kaiba turned back towards the first man.
"What do you want?" Kaiba growled. He was really not liking this situation. The first man chuckled.
"Oh, we don't want your money, Kaiba. We want something else. Something that would help make our job easier and make our boss very, very happy."
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And I want to give a special thanks to one of my best friends for helping me write this and editing it before I post it.
Anyway, Please R&R (read and review). I'm open for tips and/or corrections.
-Eltaur of Gondolin