Silhouette of Misconceptions

Chapter Two

Loathing

~*~

"And those are the words of a gentlemen. From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize you are the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry."

- Elizabeth Bennet

"Pride and Prejudice" - Jane Austen

Midori was in the university dance studio, dancing with the other dancers and leading them into the choreography. She was a teaching assistant for her professor out of volunteering, since it was required in the course. The volunteering was not a favorite part of the dance course for her, but she thought it would look good on her resume. The programs that her professor taught, beside the university courses, where ballet dancing for young girls as little as five years old. Today, Midori was with the ten to twelve years old. In her mind, they were mature enough to know what the dance world was like and the technical aspects of dance, so they didn't need to ask her much for dance techniques.

The summer holidays were almost around the corner for the university students, which Midori was thankful for. The work load was hectic because of final exams, and she couldn't wait for the moments of freedom. The courses that she took this year were business, economics, and dance. She planned to take on the family company when her father step down and couldn't continue to run the business. The business courses she took would come in handy when her time came, which she was thankful for. Ballet and dance was Midori's favorite past time hobby. She practiced dancing ever since she was six. The beauty, grace and splendor of the art form captivated her, and she wouldn't trade anything in the world for her heart's true passion. Her dancing talent made her mother happy, which pleased Midori very much.

After the class was done, she head out to her car, a blue Volkswagen Beetle. As she began to start the engine, her cellphone started to ring. Glancing to see the identity of her caller, she learned that it was her father.

"Hi, Dad," answered Midori.

"Hello, honey," replied Hiraku. "Someone from the Shizuka family's coming over for dinner tomorrow, so I thought I should warn you ahead of time. Sorry if you had plans already, but this is the Shizukas. Bad impressions won't make us look good."

A frozen look was upon the lady's face, her jaw fretfully dropping.

Shizuka...! That means... Kenji.

"I'll... I'll see if I can make it," stammered Midori as she gave a half-confident nod. "I know how much this means to you, I won't disappoint."

"Thank you, Midori," said Hiraku, sounding grateful and at ease. "About last week... I wasn't happy about that stunt you pulled on Mr. Kaiba. In fact, I'm not happy about all of the things you did to people thus far."

She winced as the painful memories came back to her mind. Hiraku would always give her the talk after she said a smart remark to an important guest of her father's at a big social occasion. It was always a gutting feeling for her when she talked about it with him.

Oh, great... here it comes.

"You know how your opinions make me look in front of everyone," began her father. "You've got to stop... I know you have strong opinions for certain things, but you're an adult now. Please, darling..."

"Yes, Dad... I'll... I'll try," she muttered as her head hung in shame.

She would do anything to make her father happy and their family company to succeed. Anything! She would even go as far as bring down a competing company so Hamasaki Tech would be the top company of them all, but she had little power and couldn't do such things, but she wished she had.

"Thank you, darling..." hushed Hiraku. "I'm so sorry for being so harsh on you, it's just that... the game and all, it's coming on to me."

Midori smiled, "I understand. I feel your pain, since finals came up and it drove me insane."

"Oh, you...!" chuckled Hiraku. "How about we get some dinner? You name the place."

"Fantastic," she grinned. "I'll come over and pick you up."

Walking through the lobby, Midori waited at the front desk, striking a conversation with the receptionist to past the time. She knew most of the people in the building pretty well, since she would often pass by them while she visited her father during work. She had fond memories of being in the Hamasaki building, even though to some it wasn't an ideal place to play in.

"... and if you would believe it, she practically fell for it and bought the darn thing!" exclaimed the secretary. "If I was in her place I would make sure it was real instead of imitation jewelry."

Midori scoffed and said, "I wouldn't be tricked that easily if someone showed me a fake diamond, or even any kind of jewelry...! I would pick a good jeweler to buy from instead of con-artistes."

A rhythmic sound was heard, and Midori turned to see what it was. A woman walked out of the doors, her high heels clanking on the floor. She wore a dress with a pansy flowered pattern which revolted Midori. She turned back to the secretary.

"The dress she's wearing sure looks nice..." sighed Midori. "But not on her."

The women giggled softly as they tried to retain their consciousness, catching their breathes as they stood up from laughing. The elevator doors opened, and out came a familiar face to Midori. It was Seto Kaiba. Once he was near a meter from her, the CEO glanced at her with a hard stare.

"Miss Hamasaki, a surprise to see you here..." coldly greeted Seto.

Midori gave out a small smile, but it was short lived and back to her neutral expression, hiding loathing and resentment. Feelings which she truly felt inside.

One of the animals reminded me of you when I was at the zoo...

"I still remember those verbal barbs you gave me last week..." began Seto. "I think you should sit back and let the professionals do their job. We don't need bystanders like you who don't know what they're doing."

She shot the president a sharp glare, gazing at him grudgingly as he headed out the doors of the building. She clenched her fist and closed her eyes, breathing in to calm herself.

From this day on, Seto Kaiba... we are now officially enemies!