Middle of the Summer

Chapter: 3

Title: Menace to Sobriety

Fiction Rated: R for language, mature themes, adult humour and just stuff that tiny little people should not be reading about.

Disclaimer: I own only the characters that I create, and have no desire to kidnap those which I do not. I haven't the time (or the money) to organize such an event. Yu-Gi-Oh! Is credited to its respective owner— Takahashi Kazuki, I am simply borrowing his creations to carry out my biddings. Any songs that are mentioned in the duration of this story belong to (unless otherwise stated) the original composers. So ch'yeah! Keep your lawsuits in your pocket!

Summary: The two of them were nothing alike, and would probably have never become involved in each other's lives by choice. However, Mokuba's aspirations forced them to put up with each other, and much to their dismay- even enjoy it from time-to-time. (A Seto/OC fic.)


Ali stood in the doorway of her apartment building sheltered from the rain that had decided to plague Domino city that afternoon. She sighed, irritated by the warm damp atmosphere. Her straight hair, which had been combed down was already frizzing because of all the water in the air. Grumbling she removed the hair elastic that was around her wrist and messily tied the blonde mess into an untidy ponytail.

Glancing at her watch she realized that she still had a few minutes before Mokuba's driver came to pick her up to drive her to the Kaiba's house for the first time. She reached in to the pocket of her cerulean blue hoodie and pulled out a pack of cigarettes raising one to her lips and lighting it. After a few careless puffs of the thing she began rooting through the black canvas bag she had thrown a few things into prior to leaving, CDs, sheet music, guitar picks, headphones and several other oddities that she had predicted could come in handy.

Finding what she had been looking for she removed a notebook and pen sitting down on the dry area of the sidewalk she began to scribble broken fragments of would-be-lyrics and trying to make them mesh together. She was humming away, searching for a melody which would fit the song she had been attempting to finish since the week before, when she heard a car pull up in from of her.

"Finally." She huffed, hoisting herself from the pavement, tossing the unfinished cigarette in to a nearby puddle, and darting towards the back door of the car, in an attempt to remain dry.

"Hi Ali!" Mokuba chimed as she tripped in to the car and landed next to him. On the back seat, the interior of the car was crisp and clean.

"Hey little guy." She grinned down at him, he was still wearing his school uniform, which didn't surprise her as Seto had explained that she would be picked up and brought home with Mokuba. "So what'd you learn today within the Gates of Hell?"

Mokuba giggled lightly. "Symmetry, ecosystems and… grammar." He replied meeting Ali's brown eyes which were widened in shock.

"Dude… when I was your age I just launched spit-balls at the chalk board for a few hours until they sent me home." The blonde sighed leaning back in her seat and staring at the tattered hems of her jean legs.

"Really?" Mokuba asked. Ali looked back at him suddenly noticing that he was gazing at her as if she had just sprouted an extra head.

"Uhm… yes…" she said slowly, realizing that if the raven-haired boy suddenly began acting out she would be to blame. "But every night, all of the spit-balls I launched around the class would return and dance on my headboard chanting satanic prayers!" she said quickly in an attempt to scare Mokuba out of misbehaving.

He looked at her, narrowing his grey eyes skeptically, "I don't believe you…" he stated, although his tone made her think he was trying more to convince himself, than her.

"Fine, don't believe me, but I speak only the truth."

"My big brother told me that I should never believe anything just because someone tells me it's the truth." Mokuba said proudly.

"And you believed him?"

"Of course."

"But how do you know he was telling the truth?" she asked a smirk breaking out over her face. "I mean, if he told you not to believe people, doesn't it defeat the point when he expects you to believe him?"

Mokuba thought her words over, his face holding a reserved look as he did so. Ali couldn't help but wonder why he was so adorably sweet while the older Kaiba seemed so bitter. Finally Mokuba shook his had, ruffling his long hair as he did so. "Seto wouldn't lie to me."

"But I might." The blonde concluded smiling widely.

"So the spit-balls didn't come back to haunt you!" the raven-haired boy announced triumphantly.

"No, they did…" Ali started, "but only the ones I made out of graphing paper. That shit is haunted."

After a moment of confused silence Ali remembered why she hadn't wanted to hold the lessons at the Kaiba's house in the first place. "What are we supposed to do tonight, anyway?" she asked. "You told me that you guys didn't have any instruments aside from your violin."

Mokuba grinned widely. "Seto sent some people to get some yesterday. We got a piano and a few guitars, and a drum set, too." The boy said excitedly. "But I didn't get to play them last night because the movers had to put them all in the new music room and I was in bed when that happened."

Ali tried to keep her jaw from hitting the floor, she had known that the boys were a little wealthier than the average middle class citizen, but didn't predict it was to such and extent. "Wow…" she muttered, finally. "You're brother is a spoiled brat…"

For the first time since they had met only four days ago, Ali recognized unhappiness in Mokuba's eyes, directed towards her. Instantly she felt a slight note of guilt creeping in to her chest but shrugged it off as soon as it had appeared reminding herself that her statement had been true, Seto was a brat. His parents give him loads of cash and he takes it for granted.

"That's not true…" Mokuba said quietly, making Ali realize that she had said the last bit out loud. "Seto works all the time, everything we have, he earned."

Suddenly the blonde's eyes widened with realization, she gasped as all things fell in to place in her mind, and she scolded herself for being so late to discover why the boys had so much money, and why Seto was so high on himself. Of course with all the thoughts running through her head she only managed to speak once the car had pulled in to the long driveway of their destination and she and Mokuba had left the vehicle.

"Kaiba Corp!" she exclaimed. "That's your guys' company?!"

Mokuba nodded, smiling now that she understood. "It's Seto's, mostly though."

"You must be shitting me…" Ali groaned staring up at the white mansion that loomed over her, surrounded by well kept gardens and several trees. "I suck at life…" she muttered to herself beginning the ascent of the stairs leading to the front double-doors.

As soon as they entered Ali felt a rush of cold enter her body, not from the temperature within the mansion, but from the impression of walking in to such a home.

Home?

It didn't look much like a home.

Everything was so clean it shone, everything was huge, everything seemed so generic for the home of the wealthy. The floor looked freshly waxed, and the scent of lemon cleaner entered her nostrils, however faintly.

"Oh hello young Kaiba." An elderly man greeted them, instantly taking Mokuba's coat and school bag; Ali couldn't help but roll her eyes. The man's voice was leaded with a heavy English accent, his grey hair was neatly trimmed and the black coat-tails he wore looked freshly ironed.

In short… he was just too stereotypical to be real.

Subconsciously the blonde pinched herself on the arm, groaning loudly at the pain. Only after hearing the noise did the butler turn to look at her. His face was unreadable as he racked his eyes over her several times before speaking.

"Oh… you must be Miss Shvakova. Mr. Kaiba informed that you would be arriving with Mokuba…" he spoke slowly, as if surprised that Seto would have allowed such a creature into the manor. "You may call me Roswell."

"Dude, like the aliens?" the Russian girl asked excitedly, her brown eyes staring intently at him. (1)

"No."

"Oh…"

After a few short moments of silence Mokuba spoke up. "Is my brother home yet?" he asked hopefully.

"No, Mr. Kaiba had to stay late at the office, however he called to let us know he would be present for dinner." Roswell answered. Mokuba's face didn't register any form of disappointment, it seemed as though this conversation was an everyday occurrence. "Now, young sir you should go up to your quarters and change out of your school clothes. Miss Shvakova--"

"It's Ali."

"Miss Ali--"

"Yeah… no, just Ali. Skip the formalities, 'kay? Mr. Area 51." The blonde chirped, punching her elder lightly on the shoulder.

"Your sweater is wet. Shall I take it for you?" the man offered grimly, clearly unimpressed with her behavior. Ali nodded shoving her cigarettes and lighter into the black bag she had brought, removing the sweater and handing it to him. Roswell took the bright blue piece of clothing, and after giving a curt bow her way, promptly exited the front room.

Standing alone in the massive foyer of the Kaiba mansion Ali suddenly felt extremely out of place, absent-mindedly pulling a loose string from the hem of her baggy black t-shirt 'The Clash' written in white, shoulder-to-shoulder in the band's trademark font. After a few seconds she decided to look around. Casually wandering to the closet near the front door, sliding open the white doors she grimaced at the fact that this coat closet was slightly larger than her own bedroom.

"I need a kick-ass job." She muttered sitting on the floor and yanking off her deep purple doc martins, chucking them carelessly in to the closet before standing and closing the door.

"Ali! Come help me with my homework!" Mokuba said cheerfully, trotting down the stairs towards her, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and a pair of clean jeans. In his arms were a binder and a few loose sheets of paper. Before she could protest, he was walking quickly in to another room, leaving the blonde girl to follow.

"I'm not so great at homework; it wasn't my strongest subject in school." Ali said as she sat down across from Mokuba at the large white kitchen table.

"That's okay, if there's something we can't figure out, Seto will be able to help later on." The eleven-year-old explained, pulling out a fifth grade, math activity book and scribbling down answers, obviously excited to get to his first music lesson with the girl.

Ali groaned. "Can't you just do this after?"

"Mokuba must complete his homework before engaging in any other activities, Miss Shvakova." Roswell's depressingly stereotypical voice sounded from behind the blonde girl. Gasping in surprise, Ali whipped around in her chair and bashing her elbow against the table, hissing in pain she began to rub it.

"What the hell?! Were you a freaking cat in a past life?" she asked angrily, staring up at the old man who was matching her gaze with one of disapproval.

"What were you… vagabond, perhaps? Oh, my mistake… that would be in this life." The man said tonelessly, striding towards the black-haired child. "Can I fetch you anything, Mokuba?" he asked, ignoring the shocked face of the girl he had just casually insulted.

"Uhm… no, I'm okay. Want anything, Ali? Ali? … Uh, Ali?"

Finally snapping out of her stupor, the blonde shook her head quickly before stopping and staring evilly up at the old man. "Wait…" she paused. "Actually I'll have some… Poland-springs-bottled-water-with-one-small-piece-of-sliced-avacado-in-the-glass-and-two-orange-straws." She said, panting lightly at having said so much so quickly, it had been her goal to defeat the butler, a petty goal perhaps, but a goal nonetheless. Unfortunately for the blonde Roswell simply nodded and exited the room, leaving Ali to believe he would either totally ignore her request… or somehow actually manage to find what she asked for, which would be an awkward situation seeing as she had no desire for foreign water and avocados whatsoever.

"So…" Mokuba started, yanking Ali from her self-absorbed thoughts. "What's your favorite subject?"

"The janitor's closet."

"What?"

"Nothing… abstinence is the way!" the blonde shouted dramatically, flailing her arms around in the air as she did so.

"Glad to see you have some morals." Roswell said sarcastically, as he re-entered the gigantic kitchen holding a tray. Much to Ali's surprise (and annoyance) atop the tray sat a tall crystal glass half-filled with water and a small piece of avocado floating in the water, topped by two tangerine orange straws. He set the glass in front of the Russian, barely smirking at his small victory.

"You expect me to believe that this is Poland Spring water?" Ali asked, attempting to turn the tables, yet failing miserably when the English man held up the half-empty bottle of the exact water she had requested, and proceeded to finish filling her glass. "You could have just poured it all in there to begin with… you didn't need to finish the job in front of me…" the girl grimaced.

"To the contrary, Miss Shvakova… I was hoping to see your face as you lost at your own petty game."

Ali mocked his words immaturely as he left the room. She turned back to Mokuba who was finishing up his math work, grinning widely at the exchange between his guest and the butler. The blonde couldn't help but smirk a little every time she saw the youngest Kaiba smile, it was something that could, no doubt, brighten anyone's day.

Sighing Ali rested her cheek on her hand and lazily closed her eyes, the scratch of Mokuba's pencil keeping a soft rhythm in her head as she relaxed. Before she could even register it, she was tapping her fingers, keeping a beat to the pencil's scratching, and light breathing coming from the raven-haired child across from her. After a few minutes, her imaginary orchestra came to a halt and she cracked her eyes open.

"What're you doing?" the youngest Kaiba asked, grey eyes studying her with curiosity, his pencil lying on the table.

"Just… listening." Ali answered, vaguely. "You done?"

The boy nodded, piling his things back together and standing to leave the kitchen, his face all the while beaming. "Let's go!"

After following Mokuba through several hallways, they came to an off-white door with a bronze knob, Mokuba opened the door eagerly and skipped inside, Ali stepped forward to follow, but stopped in her tracks as her eyes met with the room in front of her.

The floor was dark, shining oak and the walls were painted off-white to match the door. A few expensive electric guitars stood in stands in various corners, while two acoustics hung on the wall. Ali instantly recognized on as a rare twelve-string, that wasn't being manufactured any longer. Various different sized amplifiers were stacked in a corner near an acoustic bass. A brand new Pearl drum set sat near the back wall, it's silver colour shining proudly under the bright-yet-soft lighting.

However, Ali's already slack jaw nearly fell to the floor when they rested on the final corner of the room. A white parlor-grand piano took up the space, it's white exterior putting all other instruments to shame. Walking as though she was being pulled towards the instrument, Ali's brown eyes remained large until her fingers grazed the never-before-played-keys, carefully, not wanting to make a single sound lest the innocence of white piano be destroyed forever.

"He bought a fucking grand…" she mumbled barely loud enough for Mokuba to hear, but he did, and he grinned once again.

"Seto doesn't know much about music, but he said that piano looked nice." The boy said joining her next to the parlor-grand.

"This must be worth a quarter-million… at least." Ali breathed, still in awe of the beautiful thing. After a moment of silence, she turned to Mokuba. "I'm going to take it's virginity." She said everything on her face as serious as he had ever seen it.

"Uhm… okay."

The Russian girl sat carefully on the bench, her fingers softly grazing the keys before coaxing a few soft notes from the instrument, after a few moments the room was humming with a soft classical lullaby. Mokuba rested his elbows on the top on the piano and relaxed swaying his head in time with the soothing music. All of a sudden the tune changed from the gentle lullaby, and Ali's fingers smashed down on the keys heavily.

The sudden changed shocked Mokuba and he stepped back tripping over his feet and falling onto the floor. His groans were drowned out when the blonde began to sing loudly.

"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain,
Too much love drives a man insane!
You broke my will, but what a thrill…
Goodness gracious, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!"
(2)

Her hands moved expertly across the keys which she hit quickly, breaking into a loud solo shaking her head dramatically in time with the music, while Mokuba watched her from the floor in utter confusion. Finally noticing the boys current situation Ali stopped playing and looked intently at him.

"Jerry Lee Lewis. Piano legend, what better way to break this baby in?" She asked motioning to the piano.

Mokuba stood up, rubbing his behind and walked to sit next to the girl on the piano bench. "Never heard that song, I always thought that piano music was… calmer." He admitted studying the keys as if wondering how such powerful sound had been released from them.

"Hell no!" Ali exclaimed. "I mean, sure… some sick freaks use pianos to bore people to death, but they're just as respectable of a rock 'n roll intrument as any other." She explained standing to wander about the room and admire the other instruments while Mokuba attempted to mimic the song she had been playing. She noted that he was shy, and planned on telling him later to put more soul in to it, but at the moment she was preoccupied by one of the guitars standing in the room. "I hate this place!" she exclaimed, causing the raven-haired boy to stop his playing and regard her with worry.

"What's wrong?"

Ali held up the guitar, the orange-ish glow reflecting in the light of the room. "A Les Paul? Why? Why, when I have spent my life longing for one of these, can your brother just go out and get one because you woke up one day and decided you wanted to be a musician!?"

"Sorry…" Mokuba said slowly, guilt creeping it's way over his features in the form of a slight blush, instantly Ali felt that she should have thought her words over.

"Awe, Mokie… it's cool. But you better learn to rock this like no other, or I will be dead inside." She said in an attempt to comfort the child, only succeeding in making him look more worried. "Uhm… no pressure, though." She added hastily.

"Mokuba, your brother is home, and dinner's almost done." A warm female voice announced in to the room. "Well, this place turned out nicely. You must be Aldorina." A pleasantly plump woman, in her early thirties welcomed, holding her hand out to the blonde to took it and smiled lightly, glad that the woman wasn't another Roswell.

"Just Ali." She corrected, in a friendly voice.

"I'm Cindy." The woman introduced still smiling with enough warmth to melt a glacier. Her dark brown hair was swept off her round face in a tight bun, and she was wearing a white uniform that suggested she was maid of some sort.

A parlor-grand, a Les Paul, a butler and a maid.

Life was so unfair.

"Okay, we're coming." Mokuba smiled pulling the top of the piano down to cover the keys, after Cindy left. Ali, sadly, placed the guitar back on its stand and followed Mokuba out of the room, glancing at her watch. It was only five-thirty… she would still have about an hour to actually tutor Mokuba after dinner.

Wait, dinner?

"Maybe I should just stay in there." Ali said, stopping in the hall and motioning back towards the door. "And you guys can eat."

Mokuba shook his head. "No, I already told the cook that you would eat with us." He said firmly. The Russian girl frowned, the thought of sitting at a table with Seto, rather than spending time in a room which she would loosely define as Heaven, bored her.

Then again, Mokuba seemed like he would be slightly upset if she turned him down. So she nodded at the boy and continued to follow him, frowning still.

They entered, not the kitchen where Mokuba had completed his homework earlier, but the dining room, which was dimly lit, a large dining table stretched across the middle of the room. Ali noted that it looked like one you would have seen in a movie, but seeing as only Seto and Mokuba ate there every night, it seemed excessive, not mention empty.

The older Kaiba was already at the table, looking over a few papers as he waited for the food to be brought to beautifully decorated table.

"Hi Seto!" Mokuba grinned, greeting with his brother with a hug. The older boy's blue eyes tore away from his work which he promptly returned to the briefcase he had at hand and set next to his chair. After Mokuba had seated himself next to his brother, Ali placed herself in a chair across from the two.

Silence.

"So…" the blonde tried to think of a way to break the wordless curtain that separated her from the brothers. "What're we eating?"

"Glad you asked, Miss Ali." Roswell's voice answered, though he finally called her by a less formal name. "Tonight the cook has prepared grilled Asian steak with sweet slaw, and for dessert there is a white chocolate tiramisu trifle with spiced pears."

"Mmmm!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Ali, wait 'til you taste Shardi's cooking, he's really awesome."

The blonde stared from Mokuba, to Seto who regarded here with disinterest, then flicked her eyes back to Roswell. "Uhm… I'm sorry… slaw? Did you say slaw? What the hell is slaw?" Ali asked, repeating the word over-again as if saying it multiple times would make it sound less disgusting. The grey haired man only rolled his eyes and left the dining room.

Looking back at the brothers, Ali noticed that there was a less-than-subtle glare of annoyance being sent to her from Seto. Mokuba looked like he was about to burst out laughing.

"Guys… I'm serious. I really, really don't want… slaw."

That sent Mokuba over the edge, and much to her confusion and Seto's disapproval the raven-haired boy nearly fell off his chair in laughed. After about a minute of steady laughter, Cindy and Roswell brought in four plates and set one down in front of each person.

Even as the two boys began to eat Ali only stared down at her plate. "I'm not eating this." She said defiantly, she had never been a picky eater, and in fact did enjoy trying new foods, but the stubborn child in her didn't want to give in to Roswell, or Seto for that matter.

Her brown eyes met the blue ones that were giving her a terribly ferocious glare. "Eat the slaw." Seto said, the glare never leaving his face, and the threat never leaving his voice.

Ali's roaring laughter rang through the room, probably filling the entire mansion and she gripped her stomach desperately trying to avoid the pain that such crippling laughter caused her. Even minutes later the laughter had not one bit subsided.

And who could blame her?

Seto Kaiba had just said slaw.


(1) – Roswell was the cite of an extremely famous alien sighting! w00t!
(2) – If you don't already know the song 'Great Balls of Fire' by Jerry Lewis… listen to it. It'll set the mood for this particular part of the story.

Okiidoo! Thanks for reading, and please guys… review!
Updates could be much more frequent if I got more of them.