"I finished all the reports for the Jihara contract, and finalized the Kakashi settlement today. Also, I'd like to remind you that you have a 10 am meeting tomorrow with president Miyamoto. He asks that you please be discreet about the projects he brings up tomorrow in the meeting."

Seto rolls his eyes at your last point, but keeps quiet throughout. He waves his hand to dismiss you once you finish your report, and then you head back to your office to get your purse and head out. A ringing behind you catches your attention, but a soft "Hello" informs you that you don't have to worry about it. You quickly glance at your wrist watch and see 9:53. Your house is 30 minutes away, but you still need to get ready. Mai only goes to places that have high dress code standards, so you have to put in the extra effort unless you wanted to get stuck outside for the rest of the night. You had that happen to you already twice before. Having that happen a third time in your life is not high on your priority list.

You button up your jacket, heels tapping rapidly, as you make your way out of your office and towards the elevator. You glance at your watch again, and see 9:59.

'Shoot, I really need to hurry,' you think to yourself.

As you pass an office two doors away from your destination, you see the lamp within on and hear what sounds like arguing. Since the door is ajar, you head over to close it so no one will eavesdrop on them, but stop when you recognize the voices.

"You know better than anyone else that you can't force someone to tell you about this kind of thing if they're not ready," Seto seethes. The iciness in his voice is terrifying, but the crash that comes next is just as bad. Something is broken. In fact, lots of somethings are broken. You stay on the side of the door, making sure to not be seen. A quick look at the nameplate on the wall informs you that this is Mrs. Suzuki's office, but the voice you hear next is not the sweet older lady who is in charge of payroll.

"Quite it already! I know it was you. You're the one that did, that! I know you did it to (Y.N.)!"

You inhale sharply through your nose, covering your mouth with your hand to stay quite. An ominous tension fills the air louder than any screaming could.

'But, how could he know?' you wonder. You didn't tell anyone. You had made sure to keep it to yourself. You didn't want him to know. How did he know?!

"Alright, I'm not going to treat you like a child, and I'm not going to lie. Yes, I'm the one that attacked (Y.N.). To put it bluntly, I thought she was a gold digging whore, and I intended to prove it."

A loud smack fills the air, followed by the sound of spitting a second after. You've had enough. You can't hear this anymore, and you don't want to know how this ends. This is exactly what you didn't want to happen, yet here you were. Tears start building in your eyes, but you just wipe them away, and discreetly remove your shoes. You manage to get three steps away when Mokuba finally speaks again.

"You know, this is more than old. It's pathetic, and cruel, and just... I'm tired of it. I'm tired of not being able to trust the woman I happen to love at the time being alone in the same room as you without finding out you seduced them."

'Love at the time...? This has happened before?'

Seto starts to say something, but Mokuba cuts him off.

"No, shut up!"

You can hear him walk around the room, and panic when you see his shadow coming over the frosted window. You don't hesitate as you jump off to the side, trying to hide besides one of the potted plants near you. It seems to work as Mokuba then continues what he was saying.

"I cheated on her because of you. I want you to know that."

Your knees feel weak, and you press your hand against the wall, trying to find support. Your heart pounds painfully, making your blood rush and making you feel light headed. You can't believe what you just heard. In fact, you refuse. Obviously he just meant he... He flirted with someone else! Yes, that had to be it. It was nothing major. Girls flirt with him all the time. So what if he went along with the flirting for a bit too. She probably had been unprepared for his dazzling smile, and had an unexpected bodily reaction right then and there. He wouldn't have done more than that. He wouldn't...

"(Y.N.) has one hell of a conscious, so when you made that speech about that 'it would never happen again' and her guilty behavior, I put two and two together. You were the one that left her bruised and scared. I figured the reason she kept avoiding me, and couldn't even bear having me touch her was because she wanted you instead."

You've collapsed on the floor. Your hands are outstretched before you to support yourself, but it's too much. How could he believe you had wanted to be with anyone except him? You couldn't even stand him when you first met him, so why would you want Seto like that when the older Kaiba was such an ass?

"She never cheated on you. I want you to know that," the devil himself tells your once faithful angel. The silence that follows is only broken (to you) by the ticking of your watch, and the breathing of the brothers inside. You can't take it anymore. You have to get away. You pick up your shoes—which had luckily landed on the soil of the pot when you collapsed—and run towards the stairwell. Once you get to the first floor, you stop, gasping and sobbing, so you can put on your shoes. You try to calm yourself down, and wipe away all your tears. You use your phone to check your makeup, and are glad that the eyeliner over your left is only just slightly smeared. It won't be noticeable if you move quickly, though your red eyes are a bit of a problem. You take a deep breath, then step out. Kirito, the young security guard at the entrance, tells you goodbye, so you wave your goodbye back.

You are in desperate need of a drink. Looking at the time though, you see you don't really have time to get ready anyways, so you go straight to Mai's place. She has tons of makeup, and maybe she'll have something you can wear if what you're wearing isn't good enough. When you get to her condo, you were right to see that the dress code was in place as Mai is currently wearing a low V-cut dress. The top portion is a rich shade of deep ruby, and the bottom is a form fitting skirt. The skirt portion of the dress starts right under her bust, and runs all the way down to right above her knees. She has her hair curled loosely, and pinned up at the nape of her neck. Her smokey eye is horrifyingly perfect; you wish you could pull off that look as flawlessly as she. The fact of the matter is, she looks absolutely stunning. As you look her up and down appreciatively, you almost forget what you were here in the first place, but soon enough you remember when she says, "Absolutely not! Get in here! We have a makeover to start!"

A half hour later, you have your own Mai Kajuka look ready. You admire your look in the mirror as you come to terms that, yes, this is you. You have a soft smokey eye. The colors are dark, but the look is subdued and mostly just makes your eyes look bigger rather than making you look fierce like Mai—which is fine with you. You're not trying to get anyone's attention the way Mai tends to do. You also have a medium shade of pink lipstick. It's called "fruit punch," and smells like it too. As for your clothes, well, luckily she had some clothes that you felt comfortable yet sexy in. You wear a loose fitting, black shirt that hangs on your shoulders and shows off your neck. You also wear a midnight blue waist cincher that helps emphasize your boobs and showcase the curve of your hips and bottom. You keep your black pencil skirt, and dark blue heels as they match quite well with what Mai has loaned you. As for your hair, you keep it loose and straight. Mai smiles admiringly at you, then a sad look comes over her eyes.

"You ready to go?" she asks. You nod, then off you two go. You both walk instead of drive since Mai always intends on getting shit faced, and tonight, you really need a couple of drinks in your system. Plus, it's only 10 minutes away. You each quietly chatter about this and that, but in all honestly, if anyone were to ask you later on in the night what you talked about, you wouldn't be able to give them a solid answer.

When you get to the entrance, Mai flashes the bouncer a huge smile and gives him a lasting kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, baby girl," the tall man tells her with a wink as she pulls away. She smirks up at him with all the intensity of a smoulder she could muster. "Hiya, Jake. Fancy meeting you here," she tells him around a gentle laugh. He shrugs casually and replies, "I go where the wind calls me, but I guess I must've been chasing after you instead." Mai runs her hand through her bangs as she shakes her head.

"You tease," she tells him. Some people behind you start to complain however, which brings the flirtatious couple back to business.

"Listen, Jake," Mai starts, taking a step closer to him. "You see, my friend here doesn't have a club membership, but she's totally cool. She's here to keep me in line, more than anything." The bouncer, Jake, nods understandingly as he listens to the blond vixen. You say nothing though, but rather look around. It seems like a number of disgruntled people stand much too close to you for your liking, yet you wait patiently.

Finally, she says, "So, I was wondering, you mind letting her in tonight? It's honestly just a onetime thing." He looks you over, and then looks at Mai.

"Anything for you, babe."

With that, he kisses her on the top of the forehead and ushers you two in. Inside, the room is dark except for the rays of green and red light that flash and move in time to the beat. There is three floors visible from your spot, each with a unique atmosphere. Ahead of you is the dance floor. It's packed with numerous college-aged looking people, though they're not the only ones. On the other side, there's a large spiral staircase. Two different floors are connected to the staircase, but unevenly. If the floors were closer together it would be quite easy to just jump from one floor to the next, but hopefully that idea doesn't come to any other person's mind.

The left floor is covered with a thick haze of smoke. You can also see people lazing around on the various seats and cushions. Some even let their legs dangle off the edge, though the guardrail that runs along each floor seems to be enough to prevent people hurting themselves.

Mai grabs your hand and pulls you to the bar. You look around quizzically as you take in everything this club has to offer. It's very different that the type of place you usually go, but then again, you've never been much of a clubber.

"Pick your poison," a cutesy redhead behind the counter tells you. Mai quickly orders up a Bacardi and coke, double tall. When it comes to you, you simply ask for a water cup. There's so much to take in; it's intoxicating on all its own. Mai gives you an annoyed squinty eye, but says nothing. After you each get your drinks, you just turn and watch the activity. It's a pretty rowdy crowd, but it looks like fun. From your spot at the bar, you can smell the smoke from the left upper floor. It has a sweet scent to it, mixed with bits of burning ash and a slight hint of skunk.

'I guess they don't care what you smoke as long as it's in the smoking section,' you think to yourself. You take a measured gulp of your water so as to catch a piece of ice, then chew on it thoughtfully as the events from earlier that night come to mind. You have to wonder, why does Seto do it? Obviously he loves his brother, but is he just selfish about his love? Or is he maybe... jealous?

A tap on your shoulder distracts you from your thoughts. When you turn, it's another bar tender. He looks a lot like the redhead from earlier, but he has an innocence to him where as she had something that seemed to promise mischief. He gives you a shy smile and points out a raven-haired man with green eyes on the other side of the bar. "Mr. Otagi says drinks are in him tonight." He then hands you a bright green drink with a red cherry on top. You resist letting your eyebrow go up in annoyance and give the young man before you a sweet thank you as you take the drink gingerly. You turn to green-eyed man and say thanks, but don't hide the annoyed eye roll that follows just because, honestly, he's too far to notice that. You turn to Mai, who you just now notice is on her 8th double shot, and hand her the drink.

"Nice! But why'd you order a Midori Sour if you weren't going to drink it?" she asks. You then tell her that some guy on the other side of the bar is paying for her drinks and sent her the green concoction. She accepts the explanation—as well as the drink—happily, and then chases down her drink with two shots of a Short Southern Screw.

You watch her with mild admiration as she gets up and ambles over to the dance floor. How she can hold so much liquor down without so much as a tipsy trip, you have no idea. You'd love to ask her where it all goes, but you doubt she knows herself. She begins her usual sultry dance by feeling the music with her hands in the air, and then moving her body to the beat. She doesn't look like she's going to do anything stupid—thank god she hasn't had enough alcohol—so you turn back to the bar and ask for a water bottle. You make sure to let the bartender know about the tab situation, and that all of your friend's drinks were to be as if for you as well. When you turn back to check on Mai, you see that she now has a dance partner. A young brunette man with tan skin and blue eyes is flush against her as they move in time to the steady rock beat coming from the sound system around you.

Normally you'd hurry to her side and remove her from a handsy stranger, but as you watch, you notice his slight blush and the fact that his hands never roam farther than her waist or anywhere near her bust. You begin to quietly laugh when you see that Mai is doing her darnest to tease him senseless, his blush growing ever brighter as she does so.

After another couple of dances, she whispers something in his ear and walks back towards you. His face is bright red while he watches after her. Suddenly he gasps and runs off to the side. You laugh out loud at his reaction, and nearly choke on the water you were drinking. Mai chuckles, patting your back. Your eyes water and your nose burns until you finally catch your breath.

"Jeez, child! Do we have to forbid you from laughing while drinks are around?" Mai asks you, smirk plastered on her face. You gulp water around your gulps of air before responding, "Only if you're going to make your boy toys run off with their first hard-ons while I'm drinking." She laughs just as you had at the image, then orders two more shots. As the drinks are being prepared, she sighs, looking over the dance floor and quietly mumbles, "Varon was always a sweetheart..."

You look at her curiously with your peripheral vision, and wonder just why she looks so melancholic all of a sudden. When she gets her shots, a psychedelic colored drink this time, she holds one before her lips for a minute obviously thinking about something that's troubling her. The only reason you don't ask her what's wrong right then and there is because you're surrounded by people, complete strangers who have no business knowing any of Mai's business, so you hold off. You look at your watch and see that is already 1:41. You can already tell you're going to have a hard time waking up this morning, but Mai needs you. More than you had previously thought before.

Mai's hand suddenly cups your cheek and she declares her feelings for you: "You know, I love hanging out with you. You're a sweetheart and one of my best friends. I love you more than it might show."

You're thrown off by the sudden physical contact, and especially by her sudden love declaration, but you assume maybe the alcohol is starting to affect her. You smile at her reassuringly and tell her you love her too while patting her hand. Her eyes begin to water though. With surprising speed, you grab a handful of napkins and drag Mai out by the hand. You find a quiet corner, which turns out to be the door leading to the back exit, and ask her what's wrong.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Mai tells you ominously. You shake your head, not understanding, and tell her to explain.

She takes your water bottle from your hands and downs it in a single gulp. "You know me. I'm a tease. I don't even try most of the time; it just happens."

She stares over your shoulder as she says this. You turn and see the oh so innocent Varon from earlier awkwardly dancing, looking around obviously for Mai and understand what she's saying. It's a fact that everyone who's friends with her understand.

So why is she telling you this now?

"One second I was just talking, flirting without meaning to, you know. The next, he was kissing me and my head was spinning from the lack of air and... I don't know. I just forgot, couldn't think straight the more he kissed me."

Your blood begins to run cold, an empty feeling building in the pit of your stomach. This is Mai. She's the girl who can have whoever, but usually only goes for the goofballs like that one Wheeler dude you met at your JC.

And she doesn't usually feel bad about who she sleeps with because she always ends up in a relationship. Besides, even if she didn't, she's in charge of her sexuality, and no one can tell her anything about it. It's her life.

"I don't know how, but we... We ended up in some clo-closet a-and..."

Tears pour down silently from her eyes, ruining her perfect smokey eye and making her mascara run. You feel yourself becoming numb, but things just start feeling different. Wrong.

You feel like you're in a dream, and you can't really change things, but you can do something. You can't bring yourself to care about what she's going to say, yet you're terrified to know what she's going to tell you. The only thing you can focus on right now is her makeup. You reach up and wipe the smearing mess before it can go further and wipe her tears away carefully.

"Mai—"

Before you can tell her to stop, that it doesn't matter, your quiet fear comes true.

"I slept with Mokuba!"