Chapter 7

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The next two weeks were spent seeing less and less of Seto. As he worked on fixing a dueling stadium to the new Kaiba Corp blimp, Mokuba kept busy with learning the new rules of the tournament and making sure the refs who monitored the competition also had perfect understanding of them. She was losing them. But it was alright. The tournament would only be a two day event, and after all of it, she would feel right at home again.

The few times she had spent with them, the occasional lunch or dinner, or just a moment where they all happened to not be doing something, she felt awkward. She knew she shouldn't have, but the idea of her and Seto... Mokuba only meant the best for her, but she just couldn't... couldn't stop thinking about it. Would he hurt her? No. He protected her. He cared for her. He didn't think she was pretty. She was beautiful to him.

She glanced up from her spot on the couch to peer over at him while he typed absently on his laptop. She knew he wasn't doing real work, he was probably playing minesweeper. He already memorized the patterns of the game, but continued to play nonetheless. He looked so... bored. But there was a peace with that boredom. He always said he hated not having anything to do, but he couldn't fool them all the time. He needed his rest, and even enjoyed it.

A moment passed and the clicking from his mouse stopped. His eyes unfocused then flickered over to her. He had caught her. She fumbled about, glancing back at the television screen and waited to hear the clicking sounds from his mouse again to look back. Her face felt hot and she seemed to be light headed. Her stomach was just settling back down from it's churning and she could focus again.

He was stunning. She hadn't seen many people, other than on the television, and he put them all to shame. He was tall, dark and handsome, and his eyes held a cold fire in them. Something that could freeze and burn you in one gaze. It was... haunting. She looked away before he could glance up at her again. There was one thing that worried her. His temper. He had blown up at her before. It scared her.

He was a strong man. Someone who was completely in control, and when he lost it, it was terrifying. But he did stop. He calmed himself. He didn't hurt her... The emotions were too mixed. It was too soon for this. She couldn't deal with it. She lifted herself and moved off to her room, wordlessly.

He was a good man. Scary, but good. He wouldn't hurt her. He would only ever protect her. She knew this, but her body and mind didn't care. They needed proof. Proof they shouldn't need. If he came too close to her, she would flinch. If he spoke harshly to her, she would break. She needed more time, but... he just wouldn't leave her mind.

A knock came to her door, all too politely. She knew she had left it open. It was probably him, wasn't it? She looked up and confirmed it. He waited in the doorway until she nodded him in. She didn't really want to be near him right now, but she would never deny him access to any part of his home. He moved towards her, but gave her her space. She was grateful for that. He was considerate. He was always considerate.

"Are you alright?" He asked tentatively. She nodded slowly, but he shook his head. "I only ask out of courtesy. I know something's wrong. It was something Mokuba said to you, right?" She stared at him blankly and he nodded, knowing. "He approached me as well. I don't want you to think about it. I know you need time. I would. I'm not going to pressure you into anything. If you choose to do something, I want you to do it. Don't fear the consequences. They wont be harsh, if there are any at all. I just want you to feel safe here. Nothing is going to hurt you here." He turned and made it half way out the door before being stopped but small fragile arms around him.

"Thank you." Her quivering voice called out. He turned slowly, embracing her in return and she looked up at him.

"Don't listen to Mokuba. He's... enthusiastic." He said it with a grin and she found herself smiling and nodding as well. "Now, you should rest up, the tournament starts tomorrow. It's going to be a long day." She nodded again and moved back from him. He started out the door, turning in the frame one last time and closing the door for her.

"How the hell did Wheeler get in? Who authorized that?" He demanded before Mokuba promptly told him to chill out. "I'm going to have to look into this." He muttered, moving out of the command center of his blimp. Mokuba immediately began to follow him and he paused, glancing down at the boy and up at Mina. His eyes returned to Mokuba and he leveled him with a stare, then sighed.

"Mokuba... I cant risk telling you to stay put, because you'll just sneak out and follow me anyways, so you stay at my side at all times." He looked back to Mina now. "You I can trust to stay put, right?" It was a half joke and she smiled down at him.

"Yes." He turned and moved out, Mokuba carrying his briefcase for him at his side. Those were her boys. She relaxed and watched a few duels atop a screen. Hours passed and she was thoroughly bored. She didn't know much about modern dueling, her only experience being of the table top variety, so she assumed the odd happenings were planned when they took place, not understanding why some people began to freak out.

While out in the town, Kaiba earned himself his locater cards expertly, while more people did the same. When it was finally time to bring everyone together, her boys marched right back to the blimp. Seto seemed disgruntled, and Mokuba was very quiet, but both put that aside to keep the show on the road.

"I'm surprised you made it this far." He said as he glanced down to a blond boy. The boy immediately growled and moved up, but was restrained by the people behind him.

"I'm better than one freakin star, Kaiba!" He screamed out, but Seto just smirked.

"This part is for duelists only. The others will have to stay behind." He smirked as the group looked between themselves.

"Why cant we come? It's not like we're all that much more work!" One of them argued, and Mokuba looked through them. He seemed to pause on the tall brunette girl and glance back to his brother.

"Seto, I'm not a duelist." He argued for them, and Seto glared down at them.

"That's different Mokuba, you worked on this tournament." The boy glanced back at Mina and then to his brother again.

"She didn't." He argued again. Seto's eyes flickered over to her and she looked away. He rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Fine." The group moved aboard and slowly all of the finalists made their ways onto the blimp.

Seto made the announcement as public as possible, that their final dueling stage would be a blimp, flashing his face on bill boards all over the city and listening to the roar from the crowds still on the street as the finalists lifted into the sky. The duels would be broadcast over those same large screens as they happened.

It didn't take long for something to get out of hand. She was instructed to wait inside her room until further notice, but after an hour, curiosity got the best of her. She knocked on Kaiba's door, waiting for him to open it, but voices inside caught her attention. They were arguing. There were many of them. She typed in his pass code and the door slid open. Everyone quieted themselves, but only momentarily.

"Please, Kaiba. Have some compassion." A young girl begged. He didn't look up at Mina. He just looked at the redhead for a few moments as she bowed low.

"Call the first aid response team to room fourteen." He finally said into an intercom. "Now, get out." He demanded. The group started to filter out, moving around Mina as they did. "I told you to wait in your room." he said quietly.

"It's been over an hour. What was that?" He shook his head, not wanting to explain the situation again. He beckoned her over to the table and she sat across from him. "You're stressing too much." He shook his head again, but sighed.

"There's a lot of work that goes into these." She leveled him with a disapproving stare and he felt himself chuckle. She was more comfortable with him. "They... this means a lot to me." He finally admitted.

"And do you think being tense and agitated throughout it all will make it better? I know you want this to be perfect, but I think it already is. There are just some things you cant control, and to try might actually ruin them." He shifted, sitting up and looking like he was getting ready to defend his case when she took his hand. "Please, you've done so much, just enjoy this." she gave his hand another squeeze and he smirked.

"...What... What could it hurt?" She smiled brightly and pulled back from him and he couldn't help but return the smile. He glanced behind him and sighed. "The next duel starts in ten minutes and Mokuba's already down." She looked past his shoulder and saw the boy sleeping on one of the swivel chairs.

"He'll wake up to watch it. Are you dueling next?"

"No. It's Wheeler against that Marik guy. Honestly I don't see why Wheeler even joined."

"Maybe he just wanted to have some fun too?" She caught his eye and he fixed her with a dull stare. Maybe she had a point. Maybe he should just let what happens happen. What could it hurt, right?

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Last chappie before the weekend! But hey, I'll see you all on monday right? Have a great weekend!

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love Ya!