Phantom: Thank you for the reviews thus far! I must say I am happy to see a much better reception on than on ^_^ So now, here we are with chapter 3…
Chapter 3: Sake
**
The following morning proved to be a challenge for me. In hindsight, this should have been expected. I was feeling a little woozy from the quantity of wine I had consumed last night, and having to get out of bed at 6am with a mild hangover knowing I had a full day's work ahead of me didn't go down so well. Kaiba's chauffeur had dropped me home somewhere about ten o'clock last night – which might not sound especially late – but being that the wine was flowing free I decided to take advantage, and now I came to realise that it might not have been such a good idea. I mentally noted not to get on the turps on a work night.
Thankfully, after a shower and stepping out to face a warm, definitely springy day (this time), my spirits seemed to lighten. The air was thick with sakura tree blossoms as I strolled through the concrete jungle known as Domino to my workplace in the centre of town. It was probably a good thing that I lived close to my work; everything I needed, in fact, was close by. I'd grown quite accustomed to my little apartment that I had lived in since I had moved to Japan; it was like my baby, my sanctuary from the hectic lifestyle I had learned to endure. Admittedly, life back in New Zealand was a lot more laid back, but I liked it here. It pained me a little, knowing that I would be leaving soon, but that didn't mean I couldn't come back if things didn't work out.
It was Friday, which usually meant it would be busy at work – what with settlements and the like – but for some reason, this week it was exactly the opposite of that. I quite enjoyed it when we had the rare occasion of a quiet Friday. A green tea with lime zest first thing after I got to work seemed to have cleared the haze in my head and settled my stomach, and by the afternoon I was feeling brand new again.
"So," Hiromi said to me, some time in the afternoon. "How did it go last night?"
I frowned to myself. Hiromi was always up for some form of scandal. "'It' went fine." I replied, declining to elaborate.
"What did you talk about? Is he nice? Did you... you know?!" Hiromi started to get carried away; her cheeks becoming flushed with gossip-induced excitement.
"For Kami's sake, Hiromi!" I yelled, embarrassed. "It was just dinner. Nothing more, nothing less. And yes, he is nice. Nicer than everyone seems to make him out to be, anyway."
"He must like you." she said with a wise nod. "Do you think he's looking for a girlfriend?"
Great, I knew she'd try and go down this path. "How the hell should I know?" I retorted. "It's not like we talked about that sort of thing, at all. It wasn't a romantic dinner, if that's what you're thinking."
"Why else would he ask you out to dinner, then?" Hiromi countered. "Men don't ask women out just because they want to be friends."
My plan to evade the topic of working for Kaiba was about to crash and burn, I realised. "Why don't you ask him yourself, then?"
Suddenly the phone rang, so I jumped at the chance to escape Hiromi's conversation spider web that she had caught me in. "Good afternoon, Yokita Takenouchi and Co."
[Hm. You sound different on the phone.]
Tingles immediately erupted in my stomach as his chilly voice resonated in my ear. "How'd you know it was me?"
[Your accent.]
I laughed fretfully, feeling foolish. "Of course. Did you want to speak to Yokita-san?"
[No, actually it is you that I want to speak to.] Kaiba replied. [I wanted to let you know that I have got an employment contract drafted up for you to go over.]
"Oh... That was fast." I said, not really sure what else to say.
[I'm tied up today and Saturday, but Sunday suits if you'd care to do lunch so we can go over it.]
Jesus Christ. I thought. Another…meeting? ANOTHER meeting! "Sure." I said weakly, feigning confidence. "What time and where?"
[1pm at the Odaiba Estate Gardens suits me.] Of course, it was always about him. Never mind my schedule. Not that I had much of one…
Are you going to ask me to dress nicely this time, too? I thought about saying, but held my tongue. "Alright..." I agreed, slightly stricken. The Odaiba Estate Gardens were one of the most sacred in the country, spreading over hundreds of acres of parkland, and had a beautiful traditional tea house nestled in amongst the trees. "I'll see you there at 1 on Sunday."
[I don't have to ask you to dress nicely this time, do I?]
I couldn't restrain my amusement this time and laughed with childish abandon; it was like he'd read my mind a few seconds earlier. "And why's that? What if I'm secretly a closet-Goth?"
[Then that would make me the Queen of England.] He replied, and I could hear the smile hidden in his voice. [I have to go. See you Sunday.]
"Okay," I replied, feeling a little lightheaded. "See you then."
"Goodbye." Then, dial tone.
After hanging up the phone, I once again morphed into zombie mode, only this time it was my keyboard that I was transfixed upon. Hiromi must have known that something was up, as I had - without realising it - just conversed with Kaiba in English for the entire phone call. It wasn't often that I spoke my first language - at least not at work. I got the impression that Yokita-san felt inferior to me when I did, as he wasn't able to understand me. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing that I had spoken English just then, as Hiromi wouldn't have been able to understand, either. The less she knew, the better.
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing light filing, and since we were quiet, I was allowed to go home a half hour early. I stopped in at McDonalds on the way home, knowing that there wasn't a bite to eat in the house except for maybe yesterday's sushi, which wasn't terribly appealing for a Friday night dinner. After finishing off my McChicken Burger combo - which didn't taste nearly as good as it did at home - I extracted a (small) bottle of Japanese plum wine from my cabinet and nursed it for a while, watching TV, trying to dissolve the thoughts of Seto Kaiba from my mind.
**
"I have something really big to tell you."
"You're pregnant?"
"Jesus, no!" I laughed. "Have you any idea how long it's been since I've been laid?"
"Not since Katsuo, I bet." Seisaki replied, sucking on her cigarette.
Currently Seisaki - the girl whom had landed me my current job - and I were lunching at an upmarket cafe in central Domino late on a Saturday afternoon. It was a hot day, not a cloud in the sky, and the same weather was forecast for tomorrow - Sunday, or, as I had come to calling it, Doomsday.
"You're right about that," I muttered. "Anyway, do you want to hear it, or not?"
"You know it."
I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I had dinner with Kaiba Seto on Thursday night."
"Bullshit." She stated, matter-of-factly, tapping ash into the ashtray.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me!" I slumped back into my chair.
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Tell me then, how did you come to have a dinner date with Kaiba?"
"He's a new client of Yokita's." I replied. "And, he wants me to work for him."
Seisaki shot me a disbelieving glance, flicking her cigarette butt away. "Work for him? So then, why'd he take you out for dinner?"
"I don't really know..." I replied, still unsure. "It was kind of like an interview. I guess he must have thought I was good for the job, because we're having lunch tomorrow so I can have a look at my new contract."
"Too much," she said. "Are you going to take it?"
"I think I'd be stupid not to," I replied, sipping my coffee. "He's offering me double of what I'm on now."
"Shut up!" Seisaki shrieked, mouth hanging open. "Seriously?"
"That's what he said..."
"Kami, you are lucky. You are so damned lucky. What I'd give to get into that guy's pants..."
"Hey," I said sharply. "No-one is getting into anyone's pants, here. These... 'meetings' I guess you'd call them, are just so I can get my new job sorted out."
"So why hasn't he just asked you to come into his office? Literally, come."
"Mind out of the gutter please, Seisaki." I giggled. "I asked him the same thing. He's too busy during business hours to deal with stuff like hiring new staff. Usually he'd get his secretary to do it, but that's the position he's offering, so he kind of had to do it himself."
"I guess that's believable." Seisaki said, still sounding a little doubtful. "Where are you going for lunch tomorrow?"
"The Odaiba Estate Gardens."
"Get out of town!" she shrieked, going saucer-eyed.
"Uh, no." I said. "That's really where we're going."
"What are you going to wear?"
I froze. "Shit,"
"You haven't thought about it yet?! You're gonna have to find something nice, you know."
That was one thing that had I had completely not thought of. This was a classy place I was going to – as in you wouldn't be caught dead in anything less than designer wear, which my wardrobe somewhat lacked. What was I going to wear?! "You got anything I could borrow?"
"Don't be a tight-ass," Seisaki said, rolling her eyes. "Let's just go shopping. We've got all day, don't we?"
"Yeah, but I'm broke."
"Credit card?"
"It's evil."
"But useable!" Seisaki said enthusiastically. "I know a place that sells rip-off designer couture; let's go."
And, without more ado, we left.
**
I had to say, one of the upsides to living in Japan was that there was a lot more to see and do than in New Zealand. One of these things happened to be shopping - first probably came eating, but Domino City really was a shopper's paradise. Seisaki had lured me into a little thrift store down one of the many back-alleys that sold just about anything and everything you could think of. This particular shop happened to specialise in fake designer clothing and accessories - but they were good fakes. They had imitations of Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags that could actually pass for the real deal.
"I think you should wear a dress for tomorrow," Seisaki stated as she pulled out a couple of dresses from a rack nearby. "What do you think of these?"
"I'm going to lunch, not a funeral!" I said. "I don't want black. Something...more feminine, I think."
"How about this, then?" Seisaki pulled out a blush-coloured mini-dress. It was sleeveless and the neckline went across the collarbone in a half-moon shape. A satin ribbon clinched under the bust leaving the skirt billowing out from that point downward, creating an empire-line style that would potentially hide any unsightly bumps or bulges. The skirt was made from a fine silk tulle and the bodice was sheer, almost see-through. "It looks just like Valentino ready-to-wear," she added. "You couldn't get much girlier than this."
I took it from Seisaki's hands and scrutinized it auspiciously. It was beautiful, and just what I had had in mind. "Should I try it on? It's an awfully small size 8..." I said, doubting now as to whether it would actually fit.
"Would you like to try that one on?" The shop assistant came up to us. "It's such a stunning dress; only someone tall and pretty like you would suit it."
I deadpanned inwardly; shop assistants - in any kind of retail shop - often had the habit of sucking up to their customers. She might have just thought that I was tall because I was naturally taller than most Japanese women. I knew, however, I was just an average height for a young Caucasian woman.
"Go on, try it on!" Seisaki encouraged. "Think about it - you're going to the Odaiba Estate Gardens tomorrow."
She couldn't have drilled the place name into my head any harder, so without further hesitation I dashed off to the changing room. Delicately unzipping the back of the dress, I slipped into it and zipped it back up again. The part around the chest was definitely figure-hugging; tight, but not so tight that I felt uncomfortable. I was actually pleasantly surprised with it; it wasn't often that I could wear light colours without looking somewhat bulgy. It fell just short of half-way down my thigh - but not so it looked unsavoury. I blushed to myself as I noticed my skanky black bra showing underneath the sheer chiffon covering my chest; I'd have to do something about that come tomorrow if I decided to go through with buying the dress. I decided to quickly show Seisaki.
"So, what's the verdict?" I asked as I pulled the curtain across.
Seisaki grinned. "Like a glove! Do you love it?"
"Love it?" I queried. "Well, I like it..."
"Then don't buy it."
I was mystified. "Huh? But-"
"If you only like it, find something you love instead, and buy that."
I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. Suddenly the shop assistant hurried over to me. "So beautiful! You look amazing; your brown skin goes so well with this colour!"
I glanced down at my pasty bare legs which hadn't seen sunlight for about three months. I had to remind myself that Japanese girls with porcelain white skin probably thought I was Mexican or something with my slightly olive complexion 'just like your father', or so my mother had told me. How was I to know? I'd never met the guy in my life. "Uh... thank you."
"Here, try on these heels; it might give you a better idea of what you'll look like tomorrow." Seisaki suggested, snatching a pair of heels from a rack nearby and placing them at my feet.
I stepped up into them, towering what felt like six foot - but was probably more so around 5'8" - and examined myself in the mirror. I looked a bit spindly, in my opinion, and probably needed to slap on a coat or five of fake tan when I got home, but otherwise the dress looked fantastic.
"Sold," I muttered, because I really didn't want to be towed around Domino the rest of the day looking for something else. This dress would just have to do.
"Do you need anything else?" Seisaki asked as we exited the shop. "Shoes? Handbag? Facial?"
"I'm not trying to impress him - or anyone else," I said. "I think I've got it covered. My poor credit card won't know what hit it if I buy anything else, today."
"Are you going to wear the dress tonight?"
"Why, what's happening tonight?"
"I think we're all going to the movies."
"By 'all', who do you mean?"
"You, me, Takara, Natsuko, Jei and Katsuo."
My stomach suddenly somersaulted. "Katsuo?"
Seisaki rolled her eyes. "Yes, Katsuo. Don't tell me you don't want to come just because he's going to be there."
"No, it's just... I haven't seen him for a while." I said. "It's not exactly like we ended on good terms, you know."
"I don't think you've got anything to worry about," Seisaki replied. "He's over it, you're over it, so move on. And if things get awkward, then you can leave any time. Or he could."
I sighed a little bit, my mind drifting back to the short period of time that I had spent amorously involved with Katsuo. I was known as the 'gaijin' - which is Japanese for 'foreigner' - at my school when I first arrived. I felt rather out of place; westerners were a minority at Sakomata College and even though I had made friends with some of them, I still felt like an alien. Katsuo was the first guy to put aside my differences and like me for who I was. He didn't care that my Japanese wasn't perfect, that I was taller and had larger eyes than the other girls, or had an accent that was weird to them. He also never used to call me a 'gaijin', which, until I found out what it meant, always confused me and made me feel a little self-conscious.
We remained close friends for the first two years of my attendance at Sakomata College; Katsuo introducing me to his clique. I was accepted into the group surprisingly fast; it wasn't often that the students would allow such a stranger to associate with them, but Katsuo was something of a leader. He was a popular student; bright, funny, handsome, unafraid to speak his mind. His long hair was bleached blonde and he always coiffed it up with a headband or else let it hang around his ears. It was only in my final year of school that something of a romance sparked between Katsuo and myself. The group of us went on a short summer holiday while school was out, to the southern islands of Japan. It was a hot, balmy night, and the six of us had been drinking at our hotel for some hours. Ironically, we were on the discussion of sex - a popular topic, it was - and, having drank too much alcohol, one thing led to another and Katsuo and I ended up in bed together.
Seisaki had said, after we had returned to Domino, that she wasn't all too surprised about the ordeal. Katsuo had apparently set his sights on me some time beforehand. The fling turned into a relationship that lasted for all of six months and then turned sour. It wasn't over anything major - just small things related to cultural differences. His parents didn't like the idea of him dating a white girl, for a start, and after a while he began to comment on how he thought I'd put on weight and should try dieting, which, quite frankly, just pissed me off.
I saw the end of my school year out pretty much on my lonesome. I still hung about with Katsuo and the group, but it wasn't the same. Most of the time I'd spend my lunch hours studying in the library, mainly because I knew I just created tension within the group. The beginning of spring - that is, about a month ago - saw me finishing my final exams and graduating from Sakomata College. Seisaki landed me my job at her father's law firm shortly after I had told her I needed a job to save some money so I could return home.
Wow, I'm really blabbering, aren't I? Sorry, I didn't mean to tell you my entire life story. But that's pretty much my background, in case you were wondering. So now that that's out of the way, let's get back to the story...
"You're right," I said. "What's in the past is in the past. Anyway, it's been over six months since we broke up."
"That's right," Seisaki said, lighting up another cigarette. "You've got more important things to worry about than him."
"Like what?"
"Kaiba," she said with a cheeky smile. "You're gonna knock him for six in that new dress!"
"That's not what I plan on doing, Sei." I replied, starting to get a little bit annoyed. "He's about to become my new boss; I highly doubt he'd want to get into my pants - or for me to try to get into his."
"You didn't know that about Katsuo either, when you first hooked up."
I faltered. This was true, however, no one had ever seen Seto Kaiba with another woman. Was I being completely naïve? "You don't think... He wouldn't... Would he?"
"Hey, the guy's a billionaire." Seisaki muttered with a shrug. "He's probably used to getting what he wants, and that includes women."
"It's not like I'd let him do anything, even if he wanted to." I replied with a touch of dignity.
"Sure you wouldn't." Seisaki said with obvious sarcasm, and glanced at her watch. "I gotta get going, anyway. I'll be at your house at say, 7pm, and we'll meet the others at the cinema, OK?"
"Alright; what are we going to see, by the way?"
"It's called 'The International'." Seisaki replied. "It sounds good. It's got subtitles - not that you'll need them."
I laughed. "Well, I'll see you at my house later on." With that said, we went our separate ways.
**
It was about eleven o'clock by the time we got out from the movie. I had to admit that it was revitalizing to be able to watch a movie in my own language for once. My friends didn't often like going to movies with subtitles. Afterward, we had decided to go to a club in the city for some late-night nibbles and drinks. It was almost 1am at this point and I had consumed what I thought was probably a little too much sake. Seisaki, Takara and Natsuko decided to get up for a dance. Jei, being the sexbag that he was, would never pass up the opportunity to dance with three pretty girls, so followed suit. Katsuo and I were now at the table alone. For the first time that night, I started to feel edgy.
"How are you finding life after school?" He said, in an attempt to be civil.
This surprised me; Katsuo would normally - or so I would have thought – be the stubborn one by refusing to break the ice first. "Fine," I replied. "Starting a new job, soon."
"Really? Where abouts?"
I smirked. "Kaiba Corporation."
What seemed to be both surprise and anger flashed in Katsuo's dark eyes. "You're working for him? That jerk?"
"He's not... a jerk," I said, suddenly feeling quite ill. I put down my sake just as the room warped at an odd angle.
Katsuo happened to notice this. "Are you alright? You don't look so good..."
Definitely too much alcohol! I chastised to myself. How could I get drunk the night before something so important? God, how stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! ...
"Hey, Peko, are you OK?"
I glanced up to see Takara, my half-Japanese half-Korean friend who had religiously dyed her hair platinum blonde since the day I met her - I had never seen it any other colour. She had referred to me as "Peko", being short for Pekopeko, which meant 'fawn' in Japanese. I had somehow adopted the nickname due to the fact that my group thought I resembled a baby deer because of my large dark eyes and spindly legs. That - and they couldn't pronounce my English name to save themselves, anyway.
"I... ugghhh...." was all I could manage.
"I'm going to take her home," I vaguely heard Katsuo announce.
There was a murmur of agreement before I was hoisted up off of my chair and dragged out of the club. It wasn't often that I got so wasted that I actually had to lean on someone for support; I guess the sake I had been drinking was stronger than I thought it had been. On the way home I could barely keep my eyes open; I vaguely recalled stepping onto a train and being slumped in Katsuo's arms for the most part of the trip.
When we reached my apartment door, I was about ready to thank Katsuo for escorting me home and be on my drunken merry way, when...
"Do you want me to tuck you into bed?" Katsuo asked with a sly glint in his eyes, sliding his hands onto my hips.
"Huh? No! No thank you." I said, my head clearing for a moment before quickly hazing over again. "Let me go, Kat."
"Come on, baby," he said, gently pressing me against the wall. "For old time's sake…?"
"Katsuo, please." I said. "Stop it."
He put his hands up to my face, and the last thing I remember before his lips closed over mine was a fleeting image in my mind of Seto Kaiba standing in Katsuo's place.
**
Author's note: Sorry that there was no Kaiba-interaction in this chapter, but it was necessary to write to keep the story moulded together. There shouldn't be anymore like this one without any Kaiba sexiness, OK? ^^;; Forgive me! -flees-
