Stephan: This is going to be a relatively short chapter but I'll have the next one up sooner; I PROMISE!

Part 4: A New Home

Kariana sat at a diner munching on a piece of toast as she poked through the apartment section of the newspaper. Even though Kaiba was going to pay her more than expected for the kind of job she was going to be doing her budget was still limited. She needed something close to work and cheap. She had looked at the ad for the apartments the Kaiba brothers would be staying at but realized they were a bit out of her price range. Really, well out of her price range. She would have to find something else. She set down her toast and picked up her cup of mocha, slowly sipping it. The paper had numerous amounts of exed out circles where she had thought it might work but changed her mind. Her eyes locked on a certain article down in the far right corner, almost as if it were hidden.

One bed, one bath, kitchen/dining/living, community pool and laundry mat. 15000 yen per month.

((Stephan: 15000 yen is roughly about 150 American dollars))

"Just what I need." She said aloud, "And exactly where I need it." It was almost exactly between the school and the apartment they would be living at. "Hm," she pondered over it, "No way this is possible. It's too good to be true." She folded the paper and tucked it under arm as she stood up. She pulled some money out of her back pocket and counted it out before setting the right amount on the table. She downed the rest of her mocha and snagged the rest of her toast before leaving the café. With the toast in her mouth and paper under her arm she counted what little money she had left.

'Just enough to get me to the apartment building. Not enough to get to Tea's though…Crap.' She thought. 'Oh well, guess I'll have to walk back later.' She shoved the money into her back pocket and waved for a cab. A minute or two later one stopped and she opened the door and got in.

"11th and Maple please." She told the driver and he only nodded before pulling out. A fifteen minute drive later she arrived at the street. She made sure to pay before getting out of the car and leaving. She stood outside the building as the cab drove off. "Well…it's not too bad." She said to herself. It was a grey old building, with missing shingles and broken window or two. Swallowing her uncertainty, she walked down the path and entered the old building. There was dead, out of tune door bell sound as she walked in. Ahead of her was a desk with a rather old lady perched in a chair behind it. The inside was almost exactly like the outside; broken in random places but still intact.

The old lady looked up in glee, as if she hadn't seen someone in years. Maybe she hadn't? Kariana didn't want to know. "Come in, come in." She smiled through false teeth. Kariana walked up to the desk. "Are you here to see the rooms?" Kariana nodded. "God, good. I'll show you the way." She hopped out of her chair and came around the desk rather quickly to Kariana's surprise. "Follow me, follow me." She said, going down the hall to Kariana's left and she followed. "She's a bit old so there isn't an elevator but who needs those anyways." She waved with her hand as she led Kariana up the stairs. Kariana held onto the rail but discovering its unreliability let it go. It was dirty or nasty or anything, just rickety. After the second flight of stairs the lady led her down another hall. "It's just right here." She stopped at the second door on the left and pulled out a large ring of keys seemingly out of no where. She fingered through them until she found the right key and opened the door. "Don't be put off by the looks of this building, this floor was just remodeled." She reassured, actually relieving Kariana, not that she would admit that aloud. She walked in, holding the door open for Kariana as she walked in.

To her surprise it was pretty nice. An open dining/living room connected to a small open kitchen with light colored wooden flooring. She walked in further; there were two other doors on the right side of the wall. She went opened the first door, stepping into what was the bathroom. There was a tub with a shower head and plain white curtain, a sink with a mirror and medicine cabinet, a toilet and grey tiling. The color was bland but obviously redone. Left the bathroom and went to the next door, what she presumed to be the bedroom, and she was right. The carpet wasn't so new; a light tan color with some stains-specifically in the far left corner.

'Tan's nice…unless…it's supposed to be white.' She shivered mentally and shook the thought away. There was a small closet that jutted out into the room a little and a window that overlooked the pool outside. "It's nice." She commented as she came out of the room back into the living/dining room.

"So you consider then?"

"Yes…I think I'll take it actually." Kariana smiled. They old lady's face lit up.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she waved Kariana over, "Come, come. Let's go fill out the forms." Kariana nodded and followed her out. She waited for her to lock the door and then followed her back through the stairs again.

For the next twenty minutes or so she sat with the lady, who's name was Mrs. Nakahara, and filled out the proper papers. It was decided Kariana would move in the upcoming Tuesday, when the water and gas in the room would be turned on. There were only ten occupied rooms including herself; six on the second floor and four on the third. The first floor consisted of the lobby, office, etc. Kariana waved goodbye as she exited the building. She figured it was around eleven o'clock by now and if she started walking she would be back around one twentyish. She sighed.

'Better get going.' She thought and started to walk down the sidewalk.

It was night now and Kariana and Tea were in bed; Tea on the twin sized mattress and Kariana on the tatami mat on the floor. Kariana looked up at the ceiling thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days. Tomorrow was Sunday, she and Tea were going to hang out with Yugi and Joey down at the park. Mai, Tristen and Serenity were all working or had something to do so they couldn't come. But that was okay. Kariana knew all she had to do was tell Joey about her new job and everyone would know within a few hours. That is after he went on his rant of how could you work for that asshole and what were you thinking. She also knew that Yugi would be completely okay about seeing that he was never one to judge. She liked that about him, it was a quality she adored the most about her friend. She sighed and rolled over on her side. She looked up at Tea's sleeping form; she was probably she quietest sleeper Kariana had ever met. She pressed her face into the soft fabric of her pillow and shut her eyes. She couldn't help but think of Kaiba. She tried to get him out of her mind and so replaced it with Mokuba. She couldn't help but already feel a sort of kinship with him. She didn't have any siblings and had always wanted a little brother or sister. This was going…to be…something…she would…enjoy…

And just like that she was asleep…

Stephan: Okay, quick question: should I skip Sunday and go straight to Monday or write a chapter about Sunday? Please tell me or I won't know what to write! Thank you!