Plot: Not wanting to chicken out on Mai and Anzu's dare, Shizuka places her name into an international drawing contest. The prize? One Hundred Duel Monster cards of the winner's choice and spending a "whole" WEEK at Pegasus's mansion: No expenses. How will her boyfriend (Kaiba) and brother (Jounouchi) deal with it when after all, impossible odds, she wins?
Genre: Romance/Humor/Drama/General
Pairings:
Shizuka/Seto
Shizuka/Yakou
Pegasus/Cyndia (hinted)
Anzu/Yuugi
Anzu/Otogi
Jounouchi/Mai
Warning: Rated T (PG-13) (Parent Guidance Suggested) For sensuality, cursing and mature themes.
-Imperfect Paradise (Yamiko)
My Torture Ends A Week From Now
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By Imperfect Paradise
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-Chapter Two-
His Potential Acquaintance
The sun hung high in the sky that afternoon in Domino City. Soaring above Domino City like a massive hovering phoenix, feathered enriched with blinding light. There were few clouds in the sky, splotching the beautiful yet plain azure sky as marshmallow stains upon an infant's blanket. The sun was shining down upon the city, upon the people of the public park who were already enjoying their quote on quote 'beautiful' day. Whether it was the children playing on the small, little playground set next to the street or the couples hanging out near the rosebushes, lightly kissing each other of the cheeks—all seemed picturesque and euphonious. A wonderful world.
However, even the midst of all the placid and adorable scenes that occurred in almost every part of the park—the anger of Shizuka was not one to be calmed so easily. Standing out like a rose as red as blood in the artic— everyone near her turned their heads and stared at the infuriated auburn haired maiden with peculiar looks, much to her own displeasure.
Fury coursed through Shizuka's blood as she walked, pumping madly from her heart to her fingertips, burning her insides. Her eyes were no longer the innocent chocolate pieces in which one would normally describe her eyes, rather, they were amber slits, which could rival those of some sort of feline beasts'. Her fists were clenched and her hair was tousled, looking as if she had pulled at it up until recently.
She didn't mean to get so angry; this wasn't normally like her—yes, very unlike the usual passive and cheerful Shizuka she had been known for during the Battle City finals. However, that little stunt Mai had pulled against her; it had hurt her deeply, and had struck an agonizing blow into her pride, her emotions and everything she ever stood for. She was so caught up within her thoughts, that she didn't notice some people approaching her.
It was a happy young couple, pushing a little baby carriage, whose current capacity included one two year old, with a few crackers in his hand, laughing and screaming madly. Because of her lack of comprehension upon the 'upcoming' subject—Shizuka collided right into them.
After the collision between Shizuka and the shocked and appalled couple—the stroller/carriage device jerked to the side, causing the child to scream and eventually break down into screaming sobs. Shizuka staggered backwards, but managed to maintain her balance and her foothold upon the Earth. The young woman mother of the toddler, obviously outraged with what had happened, turned towards Shizuka and hissed, "What in the world is your problem! Can't you see there is a child in here, you clumsy girl?"
Shizuka did a sharp intake of breath right after the woman spoke. The husband stared at his wife, astounded that she would say something like that. Surely, it was only an accident and the girl didn't mean anything. However, before the man could apologize for his spouse's rude behavior, Shizuka retaliated, her eyes burning with utmost rage, believing that in fact, the entire world was against her at that moment. "WELL! WHY DON''T YOU, YOUR BOY-FRIEND AND YOUR LITTLE ROTTEN BRAT GET OUT OF MY FREAK'N WAY!"
The husband stared at Shizuka, shocked and appalled at the young sixteen year-old. As the child continued to bawl at the situation, Shizuka stared down at the child and her nose wrinkled in disgust. She then reached out, shoved the wife roughly to the side and continued to tromp away, smashing crumpled leaves underneath her feet. As she walked away from the scene, the father stared at her, a furious expression upon his facial features. The wife, rubbing her shoulder hissed, "Well—I never…"
The father then looked down at their squalling child, remembering instantly that their son was with them. He leaned down and smiled as he said with a father-figured voice, "Don't worry, Aki… That mean, nasty girl is gone now. We're here for you—and we will make sure that you never turn into someone like that…"
As the couple attended to their spawn, Shizuka continued down the yellow-paved road of the park, glaring at anyone who came near her, warning them to get out of her way. They were more than happy to comply to her demands—and after seeing what she had done to the couple just a moment ago—who wouldn't want to defy her?
Although furious and unrestrained on the outside—inside, Shizuka was suffering. She knew that this new, angry Shizuka wasn't her at all—in fact, this new Shizuka nearly violated everything she stood for. It was shameful—embarrassing really—but anger proved dominant over reason, and it urged her to continue on with this unusual behavior.
So here she was, snarling at everyone who came across her, showing her utmost animosity. The person (who was unfortunate enough to be caught in her way) would respond either by jumping back in fear, moving out of the way or even running in the opposite direction. It was quite obvious to anyone that the girl was passionately angered and should be avoided at all costs. At all costs.
They treated Shizuka as if she was a ravenous animal—a dangerous and unwanted creature. As degrading as it was, in a way, Shizuka was glad they were. After all, she didn't want to talk to anyone.
However, fate had other plans for her.
She bumped into one last person during her trek through the park—one who would put an end to Shizuka's remarkably strong distemper like rage. The person whom she had rammed into was shorter than she was (by about a foot and a half), which meant, he or she was very young. He was and had been trying to hold up to three grocery bags in his hands—which had already been difficult at first, but now—. Shizuka, after the collision, glared at the young boy, but then her eyes widened when she realized who the boy's identity was. After all, how many boys have tri-colored hair, which stuck up into about four different places?
"Yuugi-san?" she asked. Yuugi looked up at her, obviously shocked to see her too, moreover, in this state of being. However, their pleasant greeting was cut short, for poor Yuugi had lost his grip on his groceries and they began to fall to the ground. Shizuka saw this, gasped and instantly ran to the aid of Yuugi. She managed to catch at least one bag, but didn't notice a little tiny hole in the corner of the depths of the paper bag. Yuugi managed to grab one too—catching it with both hands. However, the third—unfortunate as it was—fell to the ground, and as it hit the cold, paved Earth, the sound of an unpleasant splat was clearly heard. For a moment, the two just stood there, trying to take into account what had happened.
Yuugi lowered his grocery bag carefully to the ground, in order to inspect the damage of the third bag. Shizuka stared at it uneasily and thought, 'What happened? What did I do?'
After picking up the damaged bag, Yuugi stood up straight, shrugged and spoke, "Well—there goes my grandfather's birthday cake." With that, he walked over to a nearby trashcan on the other side of the road and dumped the damaged cake (along with the bag) inside of it. Shizuka felt her heart throb and bit her lip, feeling ashamed of herself. She bowed her head down and whispered, "Yuugi-san… I'm so sorry… I… I didn't mean to—"
Yuugi closed his eyes, cocked his head to the side, grinned as he said with a cheery voice, "Nah—it's nothing. Grandpa shouldn't be eating sugar anyway. I'll just tell him that the supermarket forgot to place his order." Shizuka nodded, but inside, she felt terrible. It was her fault that this had happened. Dang, if she wasn't so caught up in herself, then—
Her thoughts were interrupted when Yuugi walked up to her, smiled, and said, "Anyway, thanks for catching my other bag." He then reached down to pick up the other bag, however, the bag Shizuka was holding had split and the contents dropped directly on top of Yuugi's head. Shizuka saw this and gasped, watching as the eggs released themselves from the egg carton and splattered all over Yuugi's hair. After Yuugi had recovered from the collision, blinking as yoke dripped on his eyelids, Shizuka bowed her head down over and over again and cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm—"
Yuugi reached up and touched his hair, eyes widening at the cold feel of the wet slime, which began to settle itself into his hair. He looked at Shizuka, smiled weakly and asked, "You wouldn't have happened to have passed a bathroom on the way over here where I could wash my hair, now would you?"
Shizuka shook her head, saying, "No there wasn't… but there was a drinking fountain in that direction." She forced a smile on her face and spoke, "Perhaps you can wash it off over there."
Yuugi grinned and spoke, "Great!" He then asked, "Do you think you could lead me over there? I only use this particular path to get back to the shop—I'm not quite familiar with the entire layout and map-plans of the park, here…" Shizuka smiled back, weakly, before she reached down, and began to pick up the canned goods, which had fallen from the second grocery bag. She placed them into Yuugi's other bag, filling it up to the brim. She then tried to reach out for the bag, but Yuugi pulled it away from her. He grunted, "Don't worry Shizuka-Chan—I can handle it…"
Shizuka asked, concerned, "You sure?"
"Quite sure…"
Shizuka nodded weakly and began to walk off in that particular direction, Yuugi following gullibly behind her. As they walked through the park, people who in which they passed by, looked in their direction. They stared at the young girl and boy unusual, and couldn't help but laugh at the condition of the young man's already bizarre hair. Yuugi simply shrugged it off, ignoring them, but Shizuka kept her focus on the ground—not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. Yuugi took notice of this and stared at her in a weird manor. Shizuka didn't look so well. In addition, why had she bumped into him like she did? Sure, he had been rammed like that before, but by Shizuka?
It was obvious. Something was not right in the world of his best friend's younger sibling.
'Shizuka-Chan… What's wrong?' (A/N 1)
After washing out the egg-yokes from his hair, using the water from the small children's drinking fountain, (Yuugi's head couldn't successfully reach the adult one) Yuugi took off his blue school uniform jacket and ran it through his hair, roughly drying it. Yuugi was a Senior now—but she didn't understand why he still wore his high school uniform during the summer and weekends. It was so, well, unlike the typical high school boy of the modern era. Shizuka smiled weakly at him, but not without the dreariness of her guilt.
After folding up his rather damp jacket, Yuugi looked up at Shizuka and stared at her oddly. Shizuka looked down on her luck, sitting down, bottom on the grass, her arms wrapped around her knees, clearly displaying the brink of her insecurity. There was no light in her chocolate colored eyes. If so, it was very faint. Yuugi wasn't as naïve and as foolish as most people made him out to be. He knew very well that something was troubling her—why else would she continue to mope like this? It wasn't normal—or healthy for that matter.
Running a hand through his now stiff hair, (he would to lather it with shampoo when he got home) Yuugi walked over to his best friend's little sister, sat down on the grass beside Shizuka and looked ahead for a moment. This was short lived, for he turned towards her and smiled. Shizuka didn't smile back. He looked at her and asked, concerned, "Shizuka-Chan… What's wrong?"
Shizuka looked away, not answering him—at first. Yuugi stared at her oddly. In a moment or two, Shizuka spoke, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper, "N-Nothing…"
Yuugi narrowed his eyes, a little discouraged that Shizuka had lied to him. He didn't buy this. He reached over, nudged her on the shoulder and grinned casually, "Shizuka—I'm no amateur when it comes to hiding feelings. I used to do it all the time before I met up with Jounouchi and Honda. I know something is troubling you." Shizuka stiffened when she heard this, but still didn't even bother to throw a glance at him. Yuugi sighed and spoke, "Shizuka… I just want to help. Jounouchi wouldn't forgive me if I let you go like this. He wouldn't want you to be sad, you know…"
Shizuka shivered, quite clearly on the verge of tears. When they finally came, she broke down into screaming sobs, Yuugi looking at her with a severely concerned expression. He asked, "Shizuka—what happened…?"
Shizuka cried, tears falling from her eyes, "M-Mai-san… S-S-She and A-A-Anzu—t-they—they s-said…" her words were interrupted with various sniffles and gasps, as she remembered what had happened. Yuugi saw this and instantly felt sympathy and pity for his young, female companion. He reached out, placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke, softly, "Take deep breaths, Shizuka-Chan… Just calm down and tell me what happened…"
Shizuka took a deep breath, not knowing whether or not she should tell him. How he would react when she told him what had happened? Would he think the same way? What if he did? Would he laugh at her? Would he hurt her too? She didn't know what to think—all she knew was that she didn't want to feel any more pain.
She then asked a question, one, which would catch Yuugi off guard.
"Yuugi," she asked. Yuugi turned towards her and asked, "Yes?" Shizuka averted her gaze to open space, and whispered, "How do you see me as a person?"
Yuugi's eyebrows rose when he heard those words. He asked, slightly confused "Wha… What do you mean by that, Shizuka-Chan?"
Shizuka looked away before she buried her head back into her arms that were coiled around her knees. She asked, "Am I stupid Yuugi? (Yuugi stared at her shocked) Am I a wimp?"
Yuugi heard this and his eyes widened. 'Where is she getting this from,' he thought. Massaging her shoulder with his hand, he said soothingly to her. "Of course not, Shizuka-Chan… How could we ever think of you like that?" Shizuka didn't even look at him, not knowing whether or not she could really trust him. Yuugi noticed this, sighed and explained, "Shizuka, you're a very kind person who cares very strongly for the one's she loves—that is a very rare quality that not many people have. How could anyone think so badly of you when you are so special like that?"
When she heard this, she looked over towards Yuugi and her eyes widened. She whispered, "Yuugi-san…"
Yuugi smiled and said, "Now—tell me, what's wrong…"
After Shizuka had calmed down, she slowly and articulately told him about what Mai and Anzu had urged her to do, what she had done and how she ended up here in her current conditioned. Yuugi stared at her, shocked and astounded that she—Jounouchi's sweet little sister— would do something like that. After Shizuka had finished her story, Yuugi whistled and commented, "Well, you have certainly had a rough day now haven't you?"
Shizuka nodded, pathetically.
Yuugi then looked off into open space and said, "I… I never would have believed that Anzu would do something like that…"
Shizuka looked away and muttered, curtly, "Well, she did."
Yuugi stared at her for a brief moment, before he looked away. 'Anzu,' he thought, 'How could you do something like that?' In truth, he had always cared for Anzu. She had been with him ever since his childhood days. She was always protecting him from bullies and thugs—mostly because he was always one foot shorter than her and he was a walking target for people among their age. Whenever they hung out together, he always felt insignificant and out of proportion because she was always taller than him. But… he loved her all the same. Yes, he loved her. He always had. However, when he had finally sprung up the courage to try to ask her out—he saw her that exact same day, walking down the street, smiling, holding hands—
—with Otogi.
Shunning those unpleasant thoughts away from his mind, he looked back at Shizuka and smiled. "Well, it isn't so bad. I mean, you entered a contest right? I bet that's cool? What was it? Some sort of drawing for an ultimate grand prize?"
Shizuka heard this and her eyes widened. Shizuka's face paled away. She didn't say anything—instantly remembering the details of the contest. She then realized what she had gotten herself into—and realized that there was now no way out of it. 'Oh God… No! …' she thought silently. She looked away, and said quietly, her petite voice sounding tiny and insignificant, "Yes…"
Yuugi grinned and asked, "Well—what is it?"
Before Shizuka could answer—the theme of Yoko Kannos March for Koala began to play. However, in another, more 'simpler' way to explain it, her cell phone had begun to ring. (A/N 2) She reached down and instantly fished it out of her pocket. 'Thank you, Jesus,' she thought to herself.
With that, she flicked her cell-phone open, bringing an end to her and Yuugi's conversation and brought it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked.
Kawai—we need to talk. Get over here… (A/N 3)
Shizuka rolled her eyes, instantly registering whom in which that arrogant, raspy voice belonged to. 'Damn, why him?' she thought. She spoke quietly, trying to sound polite "Hello, Kaiba." There was a snarl on the other side of the phone, before the young corporate executive officer shrieked.
That's Kaiba-SAMA to you! Now get your ass over here…
Shizuka whined, arguing against her boss for the first time since her employment, "But it's Friday! I don't have work today…"
Kaiba roared into the phone, You do now! I believe I stated during your interview that you should be prepared at all times for any sudden changes in your time of employment. In addition, Kawai, are we forgetting who the superior of the two of us is?
Shizuka opened her mouth to argue, but caught herself just in time. She hung her head in defeat and sighed, "No sir…"
Good—for a second there, I thought you were even more stupid than I thought you were. (Shizuka narrowed her eyes and growled) Anyway, back to business—if you're not at Kaiba Corporation in fifteen minutes, you're fired. Good day.
With that, a small, swift click was heard—indicating that Kaiba had hung up. Shizuka stared at the phone with disgust, before she clicked it shut and slipped it away inside the pocket of her jacket, frowning as she did so. Sometimes she wondered why in the world she put up with Kaiba. Then she reminded herself that he was right—well, mostly anyway. He was her superior and whether she liked or not, if she wanted to keep her job, she must respect him. Then again—
"You're working for Kaiba, Shizuka?"
Shizuka jumped, instantly remembering that Yuugi was right beside her. She spun around and met a confused stare upon Yuugi's face. She forced a smile on her face, showing all her molars and began, "Well, uh, that is… I— you see, I—"
Yuugi looked away and stopped her in her words. After a moment, he turned back to her, smiled and commented, "Well- you're diffidently not a wimp if your working for him…"
Shizuka's smile shrunk a bit, but then widened again, when she grasped the concept. However, she then felt sick to her stomach. She looked up and asked, "Yuugi-san?"
Yuugi looked up at her. He asked, "Yes?" Shizuka rubbed her toe in the ground in little circles, holding her hands behind her back and whispered, "Don't tell my brother—okay?"
Yuugi stared at her, expressionless, and argued, "Shizuka—Jounouchi should know about this, I mean, he's your—"
Shizuka cringed and shrieked, "If he does—it will be the end of my job! We need the money, Yuugi! If my father's gambling bill gets any larger, than it will—"
Yuugi sighed, understanding Shizuka's situation. He had met their father before, and it was only for about two seconds because the guy had hurled his beer bottle at the door when he first entered. The man was simply not the happiest person in the world. Although Shizuka and Jounouchi had moved out into their own, they still took it upon themselves to pay for their father's down-on-luck life. Coming to a decision, he let out a rather extended sigh. He then looked up, weakly smiled and spoke, "Don't worry, Shizuka-Chan. You're secret's safe with me…"
Shizuka bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, Yuugi. This means so much to me." With that, she began to run off in the direction of Kaiba Corporation, leaving Yuugi alone. As Yuugi watched her run off, he reached down for his remaining grocery bag and began to head off towards the Kame Turtle Game Shop.
After running through the sidewalks and cutting across several cars and vehicles, Shizuka had finally reached her point of destination. She stood before the massive building of Kaiba Corporation and stared up at it, feeling rather small and insignificant. It wasn't like she had never seen it before. However, in truth, she had only seen it once or twice because she usually tutored Mokuba at Kaiba Manor, which was way on the other-side of town. So, this was a rare experience for her. However, frankly, she had never actually gone inside of it. Sure, she had come here, but that was because she had only dropped Mokuba off at the front doors. She had never seen the inside of it for herself.
She gulped and began to walk up towards the building. She had no idea why she had been called here. Mokuba usually had soccer practice on this day and he took it very seriously. The boy had never missed a single game. So… Why would Kaiba call her here? What good could she do if Mokuba wasn't here? That was her job, baby-sitting him, right?
Once she was parallel with the entrance of the building, the doors opened up before her like the doors at a supermarket. She hesitantly stepped foot inside the massive company lobby. With that, the entry recording for entering the building went off. Welcome to Kaiba Corporation; The Number One Company in the Toy and Gaming Business. You are on Ground Floor. We will soon release our new KC Battle Pilots. Check your local gaming store or front desk for more details. Welcome to Kaiba Corporation; the Number One Company in the Toy and Gaming Business—
Ignoring the playback message, Shizuka looked around inside the lobby. Her eyes first met up with the massive Blue Eyes White Dragon fountain figure stationed in the center of the room. There was one massive dragon, surrounded by three smaller dragons, with water spouting from each of their mouths. Other than the fountain (which totally revealed the obsession of dear Kaiba), other thing's caught Shizuka's eye in the room. Such as the architecture of the room—it was magnificent! The lobby's walls were made entirely of greenish/blue tinted glass, with glass tiles on the floor and a mirror for the ceiling. The whole design was beautiful, but it made Shizuka feel very, very dizzy.
Just when the doors slid closed behind her, she looked up ahead of her and saw someone walking up to her. It was a woman who looked like she was in her mid twenties. She was wearing a bright white blazer over a light blue dress. Once standing before her, she bowed before Shizuka, smiled and said with a charmingly sweet voice, "Welcome to Kaiba Corporation. You are Kawai Shizuka, I presume?"
Shizuka's eyes widened. Why? Was this woman looking for her? Did Kaiba send her to retrieve her? Why, why would he do that? However, understanding that her silence may have seemed rude in the presence of this woman, she instantly came back to reality. She bowed her head, responding politely, "Yes—yes I am…"
The woman continued to smile (it seemed to have broadened after Shizuka had spoken to her), turned towards her right and pointed up towards the elevator. "Kaiba-sama is waiting for you in his office, dear."
Shizuka looked up at the ceiling for a moment, (feeling dizzy as she stared at herself through the reflecting mirror) before she looked back towards the woman and opened her mouth to say something—however…
The woman, as if heeding her thoughts, instructed, "Top floor, the first door to your right. He is waiting for you, dear, so it would be best if you moved with alacrity. "
Shizuka smiled, although, what the woman had spoken of was not encouraging in the least. The woman then turned around and left her in the middle of the lobby. Shizuka then averted her gaze away from the woman, and stared intensely at the elevator—staring at it as if it was going to snap out at her. After a while, she started walking towards it, her heart pounding furiously within her chest. As she stopped and stood before it, the sliding doors opened before her and Shizuka stepped inside the small box. Once inside of it, she nearly jumped as the doors closed shut behind her, moments after she entered it. The elevator (like everything else she had seen in the building) was also made of glass. The bottom of it was metal, and the sides of it were glass, giving her a view at the lobby around her. She looked on the left, hoping to see some buttons, but saw none. She looked around the enclosed room, utterly confused.
She thought, 'What in the world?' This was ridiculous! How was she supposed to go up? How could she if there were no buttons to choose from?
Her thoughts were then answered when an electronic voice spoke, nearly scaring Shizuka out of her socks.
Welcome to Kaiba Corporation. Please state floor.
Shizuka's let out a small shriek and jumped. Once she had recovered, she stared at the doors, eyes wide, not daring to believe believing it. Did the elevator just talk? She came to realize that the elevator must have been voice activated. How extraordinary! She smirked. 'A little elaborate for a gaming company,' she thought.
Please State Floor.
Not wanting to have the device repeat itself again, Shizuka cleared her throat, and spoke with clear words, "Top floor…" There was silence for a brief moment. That was, until—
Thank you. Proceeding to top floor.
With that, the elevator lurched upwards, and Shizuka gasped as it did. After recovering, she watched through the glass, astounded as she ascended higher and higher within the tall, enclosed, glass cube. After a moment, Shizuka sighed and leaned against the wall. Shizuka wondered for a moment what she had gotten herself into. What was the reason why Kaiba wanted to see her? What could possibly be so important to him that he would contact her for on a Friday? This was, supposed to be her day off after all.
Eventually, the mechanical device came to a standstill when it reached what Shizuka had guessed was the top floor. When the doors opened up, Shizuka walked out of the machine, and turned around, watching as the doors closed shut before her. She could hear and feel the vibrations of the elevator as it began to descend. Once two of the her main senses calmed, she looked to her right and saw two mahogany wooden doors, both carved with a design featuring two Blue Eyes White Dragons. They both reflected each other perfectly as if one of them was facing a mirror. She reached out and lightly touched the design. She then looked down and saw the silver handle on the side of the door. She stared at it for a moment before she hesitantly reached out and clasped her hand around the metal. It felt cold—like ice. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pulled the door open, cringing as she stepped into the room.
Her eyes met up with Kaiba, who was sitting at his desk, attending to his laptop.
Kaiba was indeed, hacking away at his keyboard, typing with such a speed that it would have surely left any professional hacker who made computers his life and living in the dust of Kaiba's own success. He looked up for a split second, and saw Shizuka standing in front of the doors, who looked quite insecure at the moment, holding herself up delicately. Looking back down at his computer, he smirked and spoke aloud, "Ah yes, the looser dog's sister—why don't you come in and sit down?" He added the last part with phony and counterfeit smoothness. It only increased Shizuka's fear—probably the main reason as to why he said it in the particular way.
Shizuka (ignoring his rude comment regarding that of her older brother—she was slightly used to it by now) nodded dumbly, nearly tore across the office floor and slammed herself into the chair in front of the desk. Kaiba saw this and glared at her. Shizuka's heart was traveling at an excessively fast pace. As Kaiba rose up from his chair, continued to glare at her with those frightening cerulean eyes—she tried very hard to conceal her fear. Immediately after settling herself, Shizuka suddenly felt as if she was the accused—staring up at the judge, awaiting her upcoming fate. However, that was impossible. Kaiba—according to Jounouchi—was like a predator: he could smell fear from a mile away. Moreover, if he had caught wind on these words—it would have only brought sheer pleasure to him.
He stared down at Shizuka and spoke dryly, with absolutely no emotion at all, "Now, Kawai… As I said, we need to talk about a few—erm… things."
Shizuka stared at him, nodded, and said with a petite voice that was little more than a whisper, "Yes sir…"
Kaiba smirked, loving the fact that he was thoroughly intimidating Shizuka. Oh, the joys of being higher than others. He sat back down in his chair, and entwined his fingers together, his smirk morphing into a diabolic grin. Shizuka shivered at the site of it. He said quietly, "Kawai… I have been more than grateful to you for helping me out with Mokuba during the weekdays (Shizuka smiled weakly)—however…"
There was an abrupt pause in the middle of his speech. Shizuka's eyes stared at him, uneasily, waiting for what he was going to say next. Kaiba then closed his eyes and spoke, "I need you to do something else for me."
Shizuka, finding her voice, spoke quietly, "Mr. Kaiba, I'm… I'm n-n-not supposed to—"
Kaiba glared at her, obviously mad for her interrupting him. Shizuka noticed this and silenced herself instantly. Kaiba closed his eyes again, leaned back in his chair and muttered, "Yes, Kawai—I am completely aware of Domino High School's restrictions of employment. However, what I am about to propose to you now, is little more than a favor—however, unlike a favor, this time— 'NO' is not an option!"
The sudden loudness in Kaibas words caused Shizuka to jump in her seat. Kaiba saw this, smirked and continued, "Anyway, down to business… This Monday—at Tokyo Plaza—there is going to be a gathering for gaming companies and their higher officials. It will be a rather elite gathering, so only the best and most prestigious gaming companies will attend—such as Industrial Illusions, DDM Incorporated, Schraider Company, and of course, (Kaiba paused for a mere moment) Kaiba Corporation."
Shizuka stared at him oddly. She asked, "Do you want me to baby sit Mokuba on that appointed date or something." Kaiba heard this and smirked—loving how naïve and simple Shizuka was. Very much, like her miserable mutt whom in which she called, her brother. However, "UNLIKE" her brother, she had many other things. Gullible innocence, aesthetic grace, radiant beauty—and, following only two years after the Battle City tournament, she had come in possession of a supremely accomplished figure.
Shunning these thoughts away, Kaiba interrupted Shizuka and spoke, "No, you will not be babysitting Mokuba on that appointed date. He is going to American to visit the Hopkins family. This has been planned for some time—and at first, I did not approve of it." He then snarled, remembering how Rebecca Hopkins had showed up him with her hacking skills during the time when Doma had taken over his company. This still brought shame and bitter remembrance to the mind of Kaiba. (A/N 4) "Nevertheless, this now seems to be in my favor…"
Shizuka stared at him, completely confused. Finding her voice again, she asked, quietly, "Well, uh… then, um… Mr. Kaiba?—Why did you call me here?"
Kaiba sighed, reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an already opened invitation. He slipped it out from the envelope and flipped open the note before Shizuka's eyes. Shizuka read it instantly, her eyes widening at what she saw.
Kaiba Seto:
You are invited to a special gathering at TokyoPlaza this coming Monday. Awards and funding will be handed out to various gaming companies, and you have been pre-selected along with Industrial Illusions, Schraider Company and DDM Incorporated. Please arrive to accept your award.
Plus One.
She looked up at Kaiba, who had a sly smile on his face. She stared at him, lost for words. His lips then parted as he spoke—
"Would you like to go to Tokyo, with me Shizuka-Chan?"
As the sun began to set over Domino city— at last— Shizuka found herself walking down the sidewalk, alone, moving every so slowly towards her apartment. It was six o-clock, so all the children had left their toys and tricycles outside and had gone indoors, probably called in by their parents for dinner. In fact, as she passed by several condos and apartments, Shizuka could smell different (good) scents and smells coming from each one. It was somewhat pleasant, but… Shizuka sighed. It certainly was lonely though.
During her trek home, thoughts continued to plague her mind. Such as what happened during the day, Yuugi's words, the contest (she shuddered in remembrance of that)—but the one in which she could not stop thinking about was the one involving that of Kaiba's invitation. She couldn't help but wonder why Kaiba would ask herto do this? Why would he ask any woman to do this? This was so unlike him! She didn't know what had driven him to do this. Well, at first she didn't, but then at last, realized, for the answer was quite obvious.
Publicity. That's all it ever was. Publicity—yeah, that had to have been it. Kaiba was using her to get more attention. Such things were common around cult celebrities—and Kaiba had quite the handful of female fans whom in which would have killed her to take her place. After all, if anyone rich or well-known happened to have been walking down the street with a girl following him closely—flash bulbs coming from cameras would go off in all directions, blinding the two of them in light. It was common knowledge—Shizuka saw it on television and at the movies all the time.
However, Shizuka still couldn't understand why Kaiba chose her. Out of all people. Seriously, what made her so special? Surely any employee who worked at Kaiba Corporation was good enough. She was positive that there had to have been a woman there with such beauty that would have and would have most certainly have been able to override hers! After all, she, in particular, wasn't anything in which you would call, unique. She was just your average high school girl with normal grades and a handful of friends, right. If she was anything, she was most certainly the outcast, right? The only boys who had ever doted upon her were her brother, Honda and Otogi. But why? Why would Kaiba pick her? He had never even looked at her during the Battle City Competition's finals. Sure, there was that one time, when she was begging him for Bakura's life—but that was really the only time Kaiba had ever looked at her directly in the eye before her term of employment.
At least to her knowledge.
Looking down at the ground, she thought. 'This just doesn't add up…'
As she continued to walk down the street, that particular question continued to plague her, every step of the way. Eventually, she reached a stairway, which was connected to a standard-looking white apartment building—her apartment building. The place wasn't nearly as bad as her last apartment—and her father made it a hundred times worse than it actually was. For starters, there was some gardening deco, which brought cheer to the kind of dull looking apartment, which her old apartment building lacked completely. Such merriment included bushes which circulated around the edges of the white building, with tiny pink flowers blooming from the very tips of the branches. There was a cherry tree implanted just off the corner on the side walk surrounding the apartment (the building was directly off the corner of a fork in the road), with beautiful pink plumage, blossoming here and there, looking like a tree with tufts of cotton candy hanging from the branches. However, the apartment itself wasn't what you would call, beautiful, or, glamorous—but rather 'plain' and simple. It other words, nothing special.
Shizuka reached for the railing and began to slowly walk up the stairs. After a minute (she was on the third floor) She reached the door of her apartment and bent over, searching under the doormat for the key. She stood back up, reached out, key in hand and unlocked the door, opening it up before her. The first thing that came to her attention, was that her brother's shoes were gone and his slippers were next to the front door. His coat was also missing. That meant that Jounouchi was out. Suspicions were confirmed when Shizuka noticed a slip of paper hanging form the jacket hangers. She reached out for it, and brought it up her to her eyes. She read…
Shizuka—
I am going over to Yuugi's place to spend the night. Be back tomorrow morning at Ten. Don't let anyone in. I left a few of the left-over hotdogs for you from Honda's barbecue.
Love you, Sis!
-Your Big Brother
PS: If Dad comes—don't let him come in, either.
Shizuka smiled at the "Love You Sis" from Jounouchi. However, after she committed the rather small note to memory, she crumpled the small piece of paper up and tossed it into the nearby waste-basket and proceeded to the kitchen.
Opening up the fridge, she stared at the contents inside of it. It was nearly empty—Jounouchi had always made sure of that—but now, it was as vacant as ever. The only things inside of it included some half filled diet coke cans, some condiments and a carton of milk (one in which she was pretty sure Jounouchi had drunk from directly—a definite no-no). There was also some tupperware, containing meals from the past week. Reaching out for a plastic, yellow bowel (one which she was sure contained the hotdogs) she opened it up and stared at the remaining food inside of it. There was one regular hotdog, and one half-eaten one. Most likely the handy-work of Jounouchi, too. She smirked as she remembered the phrase a few hotdogs, and guessed that this is what her brother meant by it. Reaching out for the un-touched one, she dumped the other one (the half eaten one) into the wastebasket next to the side of the sink and went back to fridge in search of condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish, ect). Perhaps if she was still hungry later—she could order a pizza, Chinese takeout or something like that.
After eating her fill (that was more filling than she thought), she left the kitchen and walked into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Once again, she was thoroughly puzzled as to why Kaiba picked her, but shunned those thoughts away from her mind as she started to remove her apparel.
Turning on the hot water, she smiled as the warm droplets made contact with her skin, giving her a relaxing and soothing pleasure that no other force of nature could bestow upon her. Not even the worst thoughts in the world could come to her while taking her shower. It felt too damn good! So naturally, the enigma as to why Kaiba chose her never resurfaced in her mind. She spent a long time in the shower, almost wishing that it could never end.
Soon, after lavishing herself with shampoo, conditioner, various lotions and body-wash, and rinsing herself shortly afterwards, Shizuka turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. Reaching out for and wrapping the towel around her tiny form and tiny waste, Shizuka walked out the bathroom, trailing a little bit of water as she walked through the hallway.
Stepping into her room, she flipped the light and closed the door behind her. Her room was the smallest room in the apartment. However, unlike the other rooms in the apartment, it was nicely kept and it always gave her a warm feeling when she was inside. She hastily changed into her fuzzy pink and purple pajamas, sighing as she pulled the shirt over her head, putting it on. Once her pants were on, she looked over at her cat clock (its tail swishing and its eyes darting from side to side every time the clocked ticked) on the other side of her room, and noticed that the time read seven before eleven.
Shizuka saw this, and conveniently yawned, bringing her hand up to her face, attempting to cover it up. She then crawled into her warm bed, reached over and switched the lamp off , which sat on her night stand. She then pulled the covers over her head and thought about what had happened during her day.
Other than the strange riddle revolving around Kaiba's invitation, the unpleasant details of the contest re-entered her mind. She closed her eyes and cringed. What if she won? She knew how much her friends hated Pegasus—although, she in truth, had never met the man herself, but—and wondered what they'd say and do to her if she was announced the victor of that contest. Otogi might give her the benefit of the doubt, but Yuugi, Honda, her brother, and Kaiba—what would they think of her?
She then snorted, wondering how in the world Kaiba had come into the picture. Yeah right, he wouldn't care—there was no way in hell that he would—but her brother…? However, during that slow and lonely night, some comforting her thoughts did enter her mind, comforting enough to have her finally grip the coma-like pleasures of a deep sleep.
She wouldn't win the contest. The chances were too low. The commercial said it was international, right? Everyone all over the world would enter—one of them was bound the win instead of her. Yeah, the chances were way to small. Her own chances were indeed, one in a million.
One in a million…
- TO BE CONTINUED -
The following is not meant to be counter fanfictionDOTnet format. These are merely author notes. They are not meant to counteract the rules or restrictions of the webmaster's policies in anyway. Thank you for your attention.
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Author Note 1 – Despite popular opinion in this chapter—this story will not contain YuugiShizuka. Yuugi is just treating her nicely because she is younger and she is his best friend's sister while as Shizuka is treating him with respect because he saved Mai and he is her brother's best friend and yada, yada, yada. Anyway, you people get the jist of it, right? Good! (insert anime happy face) Glad we covered up on that…
Author Note 2 – The Theme plaid by the Space Warriors in Cowboy Bebop Session IV, Gate-Way Shuffle, after they blast the restaurant to bits. That was really the only tune (that I know) in which I could see Shizuka having on her cell phone. I mean it's cute, it's naïve, (it is somewhat dumb, but) and— Oh! By the way, I think we're clear that I don't own Cowboy Bebop, either… Right? Right!
Author Note 3 – Bold is anything electronic or interactive. Such examples include, phone, television, diary entries, radio, video games, newspaper, ect. Any-who, they will be marked in bold whenever displayed. Just for your information.
Author Note 4 – Sorry, I tried, but I have another spoiler for you. (insert anime happy face, slash sweat mark pun) Yes, it's true. In time, Doma will completely take over Kaiba Corporation. (I assume you have all seen the episode with Kaiba talking to Amelda/Pegasus in the series—or his damn dub name, Alistair (shudders)—right?) So, Yuugi and Kaiba venture into the American Kaiba Corporation building but they have a problem with the security system. Kaiba tries to hack himself—but as some of you may have guessed, Rebecca beat him to it on the outside. LOL! (Laughs out loud) Ahem, poor Kaiba.
Random Note: Any-who, please review, I would really like it if you did (does the Puss'n Boots eyes form Shrek 2) (Don't own it by the way) Oh! And for a minor note—this is going to be a mixture of the manga and anime— (sweat mark) if at all possible. Anyway, I'll update Love and Lust in Ancient Egypt on Saturday or Sunday—I don't know, sometime on the actual week-end! Ja!