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Chapter Four

On his own Kaiba waited in the food court where he and Rinoa had retreated for another round of refreshments but had long finished. How much time does it take to visit the bathroom?! He looked at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time during the past quarter hour.

Face it Seto, she's not coming back, you've been stood up! There was a disappointed sigh as he accepted the fact which his mind had been constantly growling at him for some time now.

Why did it bother him if the girl he had recently met would return or not? It wasn't like she was under any kind of obligation or legal binding contract. She could do what she pleased, and yet he ached inside from the thought of not seeing her again. Why?

In disguise he'd actually been able to relax, enjoy himself and unearth a part of him that he never knew, - or at least had forgotten, - was there. He'd let a complete stranger get physically close to him, her needs had been thought of and placed before his own, and he'd be lying if he said that he didn't find himself attracted to her. Were these the early sights of falling in love? Had she melted the coldness of his heart and rekindled his soul?

Another sigh. You fool! Kaiba pushed back on the table and got up from his seat. He refused to sit there for a moment longer waiting for the girl who wasn't coming back and looking like an idiot during the process.

Until that point things had been going well between them. At least that's what he'd assumed as she restored his faith in humanity. Not all girls were the same as the rabid fan-twits who hounded him whenever they got the chance, and he wasn't that different from anybody else who he'd have otherwise looked down on. She'd shown him that he was capable of being a normal person again, but did his heart have to ache so much for him to believe it?

"Hey! Squall, wait up!"

His insides could have won a gold medal in the gymnastics at hearing the voice call out to him. He turned and there she was running towards him carrying a long brown parcel. How could he so easily jump to wrong conclusion? She hadn't left him, but what the hell had she been doing all that time? "I was beginning to think that you weren't coming back."

"Sorry, I kinda got distracted by the traders' hall on the way back and …well, this is for you." She held both her arms forward with the packaged balanced between them on her upturned palms. "It's to say 'thank you' for letting me put you through the torture of the masquerade act."

Kaiba looked at the gift he was presented with. For me? Nobody apart from his brother ever gave him such things. Hesitantly he took it and began to peel back the layer of brown paper that the stall owner had used to wrap it in and a smile shone on his face.

Rinoa almost mirrored the grin perfectly. Her purchase had achieved the desired effect as she'd longed to see the smile reappear on his face. But this had far surpassed her expectations as his mouth curved with ease and continued to grow wider than the one he had worn when she'd first met him that morning. "You like?"

"Very much so." He assured her as he held up the custom made gunblade which was an exact replica of the one his cosplay character owned in the game. It had the handle and bullet chamber of a large firearm with a huge sword blade where the gun's barrel would have been otherwise, and a silver lion's head hung on a short chain at the weapon's butt.

Clearly it was cheaply made, and no doubt way overpriced to cover the costs, - and then some, - of constructing the display-only weapon. The item itself wasn't what thrilled him. She could have quite literally presented him with a pile of shit and he'd still be happy. What excited him was the fact that the gift served as an indication that his feelings for her had been returned. This girl actually liked him without knowing about his true identity and wealth. "Thank you."

What next? Was he supposed to extend and show his gratitude with some kind of affectionate gesture? A hug, or a kiss perhaps? Would it be too soon for something like that? They had only just met each other that morning…

"Over there Yuuge!" Kaiba detected the faint sound of a voice that irritated him to no extent and was horrified to see Joey and Yugi coming closer towards them as his view glanced over the girl's shoulder.

"How about we go and check out the rest of the trader's hall?" He suggested in an attempted to flee the scene as quickly as possible.

"Sure, why not?" Rinoa smiled and was swiftly lead away before she had chance to follow his gaze back to where the King of Games had just been mobbed by a group of fans who wanted his autograph.

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That was a close one! Kaiba told himself as they strolled through the crowds surrounding the stalls of merchandise. Those two have obviously seen through my disguise, no doubt they won't let me live it down, but I can't let them ruin things for me with this girl right now.

His nose wrinkled with disgust at the sight of the display of Duel Monsters plushies that was currently in front of him. Mainly the repulsion was aimed at the deformed cutesy Blue Eyes White Dragon which he picked up and turned over in his hands. Pegasus was bad enough but how dare someone else destroy the elegance and beauty of my dragons! He made a name of the manufacturer to sue for such monstrosity.

"Aww, cute." Rinoa smirked sarcastically as she watched him place it back on the stall. She then continued to rummage through the rest of the plushies like she had been for the past minute or so and squealed when she found one she wanted. "Catnipped Kitty! I've been looking ages for this one, it's so hard to find."

She collects these? Kaiba forgot all about his intentions to sue the company since the sickly cute plushies were something that was liked by the girl at his side. He watched as she clung to the purple cat under her arm whilst counting out the money from her purse.

"Oh!" Rinoa sighed disappointedly. "I don't have enough money." She placed the plushie down.

"Let me." Kaiba insisted as he placed it back in her arms. "You would have had enough money if you hadn't bought the Gunblade, so this is a gift from me to you."

"Aww, thank you!" She snuggled the plushie, causing the bell attached to the huge red bow around its neck to ring as it swayed.

Taking out his wallet and opening it up he found that he too didn't have enough money to pay for the item. He only ever carry around a small amount of cash, everything else was placed directly onto his debit card or paid with by cheque. What do I do? I've already told her she'd have the stupid cat but I can't risk blowing my cover…

There was a heavy sigh. Even though he wasn't ready to reveal himself yet he'd have to stop pretending at some point, and he really didn't want to let her down by not getting her the plushie she wanted. "This is kind of embarrassing for me but… I… er… I'm …"

"You don't have enough money either?" Rinoa asked as she watched him stutter and struggle with his words. "That's okay, I only need a little to reach the full amount."

Perfect. There was no need to come clean just yet as she'd be happy with just receiving the difference of what she was lacking for the plushie. "Here." He handed over every penny that he had in his wallet and vowed that if there was ever a next time, he'd lavish her with gifts which he would pay for in full.

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I'm glad this fic is being enjoyed :) It makes a nice change from the darker things I've been writing recently.

KG