Melting the Snow
Okay guys, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I kind of had to get all my thoughts together. I've actually had the basic idea for this chapter in my head since I first thought up this fic, but I need some more substance to make it flow better with the rest of the story. I kind of tweaked my original idea for this chapter as well, because I couldn't see how to make it happen like I wanted.
I just have one goal for this chapter, though. I want to get at least 7 reviews for this one, folks, so you really have to review on this one. Come on now, let's see how many of you actually read my little rants. XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, but Ari, Kenta, and this plot are mine, so don't steal them.
Alright, and we're off!
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Chapter 11
After what seemed like an eternity, Seto finally put the phone down. He had spent the last hour or so calling contractors to fix Ari and Kenta's house. It had taken a while, but he had finally gotten everything in order. First, one company would come to fix the roof and windows. After they were done, another group of workers would come and replace the carpeting. Last, but not least, the walls had to be repainted. It was going to take quite a while to finish.
Sighing, he stood up and stretched his stiff muscles. He walked over to the window, looking out upon the courtyard. Though it wasn't quite as beautiful as the front of the mansion, it held a certain serenity. A few small, scattered flowerbeds dotted the landscape, and a few hedges lined the edge of the grassy expanse. A smaller fountain stood at the center. Seto had always found the sound of the softly trickling water had a calming effect.
Even though the only pavement consisted of a small pathway through some of the flowers, he could still see the heat rising off of it. Even just standing close to the window was too much.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, he closed the curtain, hoping to keep the heat out of the room as well. Today was not a good day to be caught on the streets. That was for sure.
An idea flitted across his mind. The corners of his mouth twitched up, hinting at a smile, as he walked out the door and down the hall to Mokuba's room.
Pushing open the door, he found it to be empty. Frowning only slightly, he opened the door to Kenta's room. It, too, was empty.
They must be in Ari's room, he said to himself.
Ever since he had taught her how to play Duel Monsters, she had become addicted to it. Surprisingly, she had been able to grasp it quickly, and had already become quite good. Yesterday, he had gone to get her for dinner, and had found her sprawled across her bed, cards all around. Almost every night, she and the boys had sat up for hours, playing.
The little lessons had done more than just improve Ari's dueling skills. Both she and Seto had become more comfortable around one another. She no longer jumped out of her skin when he spoke to her, and she didn't hesitate when she approached him either.
As for him, he wasn't as closed off as he had been before. Often times, he would find himself smiling at some little comment she had made, be it about their brothers or even her job. Just something about the way she said it caused any anger he had to temporarily disappear.
Ooooo, and why might that be? his inner self asked.
Seto stiffened. He had been asking himself the same question for several days now, but had still not come up with an answer.
You mean a logical answer, the voice teased.
He shook his head, hoping to dislodge the nagging little voice from wherever it was hiding. Its constant intrusions were really getting on his nerves.
After several more minutes of mental debate with himself, he made his way to Ari's room. He could faintly hear the sound of several voices coming from inside, confirming that Mokuba and Kenta were inside as well.
He knocked softly, then pushed the door open.
All three of the rooms occupants were sitting on the bed. Ari and Mokuba seemed to be in the middle of a heated duel. Kenta was looking back and forth between the two. Seto walked over to the end of the bed, and leaned up against the bedpost, watching silently.
Ari was studying her cards intently while Mokuba watched her over the top of his.
Finally, smiling, she picked one card out of her hand. Without bothering to lay it down, she turned it so Mokuba could see what it was. His jaw dropped, and she giggled.
"I win!" she said, winking.
"This is so not fair!" Kenta protested. "I started playing before you, but you're still able to get better at it in way less time!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm never going to be able to win against anyone now."
Ari laughed, gathering her cards into a neat little stack.
"Well, I'm done for today guys," she said, yawning as she stretched.
"Fine," Kenta agreed reluctantly as he lay down on the bed, his head supported by his arms. "So what do you guys want to do now?"
"I don't know," Ari replied, laying down with her own head on Kenta's back. "Normally, I would've suggested we go outside, or something, but we'd probably be cooked the second we stepped outside the door-"
"Wait, guys!" Mokuba interjected. "I've got an awesome idea!"
He turned, looking up at Seto with big eyes.
"Seto, do you think we could go in the pool?"
"Pool?!" Ari and Kenta said in unison.
Ari sat up and scrutinized Seto carefully.
"Are you telling me you guys have a pool?!"
Seto shrugged indifferently. "Yes, we do."
"And you never mentioned this before, why?!"
"You never bothered to ask," he stated simply.
Ari opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. He had a good point. The house was so enormous that she had to spend most of her time remembering which hallways led where. It hadn't even crossed her mind to ask about the parts she hadn't seen yet. Seto smirked as she sat back, pouting. Mokuba loooked up at his brother again.
"So, Seto, can we? Please!"
"Yeah, Seto," Ari chimed in. "Please!"
The older Kaiba shook his head, sighing. He was starting to wish he hadn't told her to call him by his first name after all. Now she was using it against him.
"Alright, we can go," he said.
"Awesome! Come on, Kenta!" Mokuba grabbed Kenta's arm, dragging him back to their rooms.
Seto smiled. Allowing Ari and Kenta to stay with them had certainly made his little brother a lot happier. The elder Kaiba was always busy with work, and could seldom find time to hang out with Mokuba. Having someone else his own age was good. They kept themselves entertained for hours, where as before, Mokuba had spent most of his time trying to get Seto to play with him. Without the younger Kaiba hanging off of him all the time, Seto was able to get a lot more done. Now and then Ari would help him as well, when it became apparent that he needed it. He would be on the phone, dealing with some incompetent underling who had made some stupid mistake, practically tap dancing on his last nerve and asking to be fired. When he had finally fixed the error, and had slammed the phone back into the receiver, he would turn to find all of his previously scattered papers in neat, organized piles. If he turned towards the door, he could usually see her just disappearing out the doorway. He supposed this was her way of trying to pay him back, even though he had told her it was unnecessary.
A sudden thump and curse brought him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Ari sitting on the floor, rubbing a rapidly reddening area on her cheek, as she struggled with the laces on her worn out tennis shoes. From the looks of it, she had been tugging at the stubborn ties with her teeth, and had consequently smacked herself in the face with the shoe. Seto felt a smirk tugging at his lips, and he didn't feel the need to crush it under his usual scowl. Ari caught his eye, then turned away, blushing furiously. Finally untangling the laces, she slipped the shoe onto her foot, then began to retie them.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Well, I, uh, need to go out for a little bit, is all," she said, keeping her eyes down.
"Hn. And why would that be?"
Ari looked up, the blush still faintly visible. "Well, you see, I don't exactly have a bathing suit."
"Ah, I see. That is a problem."
"Totally," Ari replied, shaking her head. "Kenta doesn't have one either, but he can just borrow one from Mokuba or something. I, unfortunately, don't have that luxury. I mean, if I borrowed one of your bathing suits, it would be embarrassing for all of us, if you catch my drift."
It took a minute to process what she had said, but after a minute, it finally clicked. He blushed a little as well, clearing his throat. "Yes, I, uh, -hm-, I see your point indeed."
She got up from the bed, making sure her shoes were tied tightly enough to keep them on her feet. She straightened her clothes, and started for the door. "I'll be back in a little bit," she told him as she walked by. "I'll get Roland to show me where the pool is, okay?"
Seto nodded. As she walked by, their arms brushed against each other. Suddenly, he couldn't seem to draw his eyes away from her. She seemed to be in a slowed down, dream-like state, and it made it hard for him to breathe.
He blinked, and everything was back to normal. Before he could say another word, she was gone. He put his hand against his forehead, checking to see if he had a fever. He had to be coming down with something. That could be the only explanation.
Pf, you wish, his inner self commented blandly.
Seto groaned, putting his hands over his face. What the hell is wrong with me?
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"Banzai!"
Seto closed his eyes as he was hit by yet another torrent of water. He and the two younger boys had been at the pool for about an hour. Mokuba and Kenta had found it amusing to take turns jumping into the pool and drenching the elder Kaiba, over and over. At first, he had flinched violently as the freezing water came in contact with his skin, but he was used to it, and could now more or less ignore it.
"Come on, Seto! Get in already!" Mokuba leaned against the edge of the pool, cocking his head to one side as he studied his brother. "You're soaking wet already, so just get in!"
Seto glared lightly at his little brother. "And who's fault is it that I'm soaked in the first place?"
Mokuba answered without missing a beat. "Yours. You didn't have to sit so close to the pool, and you could've moved after the first time we splashed you."
The elder Kaiba's glare intensified, and his brother disappeared under the water with a terrified squeak. With a triumphant smirk, he layed back in the lounge chair, cushioning his head with his arms. After he had gotten to the pool, he had finally been able to get his mind off of Ari. He still could not figure out why he hadn't been able to stop staring at her earlier, but he had temporarily pushed it aside. There would be plenty of time to worry about it later. For now, he was content to just lay in the sun, attempting to get warm between splash attacks.
Seto heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching from somewhere behind him. Thinking it was one of the maids coming to ask if any of them were hungry, or some such nonsense, he turned around, ready to send whomever it was away.
He stopped dead, his eyes widening slightly.
Ari was standing behind him a ways, blushing awkwardly. She was wearing a brown bathing suit that matched her hair almost perfectly. The top had thin straps securing it around her neck and back. what could be seen of the bottoms seemed to match the tops, but it was hard to tell. She wore a long cover skirt, like you would see girls at the beach wearing, loosely around her waist.
Even though she could tell Seto was staring, Ari couldn't bring herself to pull her eyes away from the ground. She wrapped her arms around her bare midriff protectively. She had always been a little uncomfortable about her appearance, and a bathing suit certainly didn't help at all. When she was younger, she had always worn a shirt and shorts overtop of her bathing suit, just to be safe. Now, though, under Seto's scrutinizing gaze, even a sweater wouldn't have helped.
Both of them just sat there in silence, until Kenta finally spotted them.
"Hey, Ari!" he yelled, waving enthusiastically. "Come on in, the water's great!"
Snapping out of her strange state, Ari's head snapped up to look at her little brother, happily swimming around in the glistening water.
"Um, okay, just give me a minute," she replied.
Hesitantly, she took off the cover skirt and set it on the chair next to Seto's. Just managing to keep his self-control, Seto cleared his throat.
"Something the matter?" he asked her, unable to keep a slight waver out of his voice.
Ari was too distracted to notice the CEO's change in behavior. She still held her arms around herself protectively. "I just don't really like wearing bathing suits. I hate having people looking at me when I'm wearing my street clothes, let alone something as revealing as this."
Seto blinked. He had never thought Ari to be the self-conscious type. After all, she didn't really have anything to be self-conscious about. She looked great.
Wait...what?
His inner self cackled with glee. Now you're getting it!
A sudden shriek brought him back to his senses. Apparently, Mokuba and Kenta had taken advantage of Ari's distracted state, and both had graced her with a wave of cold water.
"Y-you t-t-two are d-dead!" she stuttered, teeth chattering.
Without another word, she launched herself into the pool. The two boys swam away as fast as they could, laughing maniacly. Seto watched, smiling softly at the scene before him. All three of the pool's occupants were laughing, splashing, and dunking one another under the water's surface. He hadn't seen any of them this happy before, this relaxed. Even though things had been running more smoothly between Ari and himself, there had still been a slight tenseness. Watching her now, though, he could see no trace of it. She caught his eye for a moment, reflecting his smile before turning back on the two younger boys in the pool with her.
Seto sighed contentedly, laying back once more.
Everything felt perfect.
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The sun had sunk low on the horizon, casting an orange glow on everything. A few birds fluttered by, chirping happily as they flew home to their nests. Even things at the Kaiba mansion had calmed down. After hours of playing in the pool, the boys had sufficiently worn themselves out. Ari had begun to tire as well, and had taken to simply floating on the water's surface.
Finally, the three of them got out, wrapping their towels around themselves as they shivered in the light breeze. Seto opened one eye and looked at them.
"You three done?" he asked.
"Yeah," Mokuba replied. "We're gonna head back up to the house. You coming, big brother?"
Seto shook his head. "I'm going to stay here for a little while longer," he told them.
"Okay, see you in a little bit."
The three of them walked away silently, dragging their feet slightly.
Supressing a yawn, Ari turned to look at her younger brother.
"So, did you have a good time?"
Kenta looked up at her, a wide grin on his face. "You bet! I haven't had that much fun in forever!"
Ari smiled, and the comfortable silence descended again.
When they reached the house, Ari suddenly looked around, then swore softly.
"What's wrong?" Mokuba asked anxiously.
"It's nothing," she said, smiling reassuringly. "I just forgot my cover-up, is all."
She turned back towards the pool and began to jog back along the walkway.
"I'll be right back, guys!" she called over her shoulder.
She slowed down as she reached the pool again. Squinting, she shielded her eyes with her hand, looking for where she had set the long skirt. She stopped suddenly, her eyes focusing on the lone figure in the pool's waters.
Seto leaned up against the pool's edge, letting the water drift calmly around him. It was soothing, he had to admit.
"I thought you didn't want to get in," a voice said quietly.
He turned and saw Ari standing behind him, looking down and smiling. She sat down, dipping her feet back into the cool water.
"I didn't get in earlier because I would have probably been drowned by all of you," he replied cooly.
Ari grinned sheepishly. "Oh, we weren't that bad," she said, laughing nervously.
She kicked her legs idly, stirring the waters a little bit. No matter how hard she tried, she could never fully relax around Seto. She wasn't sure if it was because he was her boss, or just because she knew she could never repay him for all he had done, but she just couldn't.
"So, how come you came back?" he asked her.
Ari just kept studying the water. "Forgot my cover-up," she said simply, rolling her shoulders a little.
She wasn't sure how long they sat there, but after a while, she began to shiver again, goosebumps spreading up her legs.
"Come on, we better head back up to the house before we both catch colds," he said, lifting himself out of the water.
Ari gave a last kick, sighing softly as she retracted her limbs from the pool.
"Yeah, I guess so."
Throwing his towel around his neck, he tossed Ari her cover-up. She caught it, wrapped it firmly around her waist, and once again resumed her trek to her temporary home.
She never saw the slick spot on the ground.
Suddenly, her feet were sliding out from underneath her. The only thought that went through her mind was, Well, shit.
She had closed her eyes, bracing for the impact, when she felt a pair of strong arms catch her shoulders.
Looking up, she found herself face-to-face with the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen before. It felt like she was drowning, they were so intense. Absentmindedly, she reached up to brush away a wet lock of hair that tried to obscure her view.
Seto felt his breath hitch in his throat as Ari reached up and moved his bangs aside. Her fingertips lingered on the curve of his cheek, tracing it lightly. All of a sudden, it didn't seem quite so cold. Slowly, of their own accord, his hands let go of her shoulders, and one moved up to cover the hand on his cheek.
Ari gasped, pulling her hand away quickly. Blushing, she looked away, her eyes searching for something else to focus on.
"I, um...should go now," she said quietly. Turning as quickly as she could without slipping again, she began dashing towards the house, leaving Seto standing in her wake, speechless.
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Ari slammed her bedroom door behind her, panting heavily. She slid down until she was sitting on the floor, running her hands through her hair.
What the hell just happened?
Even when she had calmed down enough to catch her breath, she could not stop her heart from beating frantically. Burying her head in her arms, she tried to sort through her scattered thoughts.
Get it together, Ari! she told herself firmly.
She took deep breaths until her heart had resumed its normal pace. A quiet knock caused her to practically jump across the room.
"Wh-who is it?" she asked, her voice cracking a little.
"It's Kenta," her little brother replied. "Come on, dinner's ready."
Ari froze. Dinner would mean seeing Seto again. She didn't think she was ready for that.
"Uh, you go ahead. I'm not hungry," she lied.
There was a pause, then his voice came from beyond the door again. "Alright, if you say so."
She listened intently until she could no longer hear his footsteps. Groaning, she flopped down onto her bed, gladly allowing the sheets to cool her heated skin.
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Gasp, pant, wheeze Okay, I'm finally done. It took me forever to get this chapter finished, and I'm pretty sure it's the longest one yet.
Now, I know the descriptions could have been better, but come on, we all know what a pool looks like. It's just a rectangular hole in the ground, filled with water. Lots, and lots of water, lol.
I did kind of dragged it out when Ari went back to the pool for her cover up, but I couldn't really figure out how to make it last any longer.
No complaining about the lack of descriptions for the duel. If I'm sitting here, writing a fanfiction, do you really think I would take the time to learn how to play the Yu-Gi-Oh card game? You're funny! Ahahahahahaha!
Oh, and as for Ari's bathing suit, message me if you want the link for a pic. The pic does not belong to me so please don't sue me for that either.
Alright, gimme good reviews, they motivate me to write faster. Remember, our goal is 7 until the next time, folks!
