Stephan: Wow… Chapter 11 …Wow
Part 11: Falling
Kariana was in the kitchen fixing herself a snack as she waited for Kaiba to get back. "It's already three in the morning," she sighed, leaning on the counter with her elbows and popping a piece of cucumber into her mouth. 'What's taking him so long?' she thought as she swallowed. 'I really need to ask him-' she looked up as she heard the click of the lock and the door opening. 'He's back.' She thought and tried to discreetly hurry over to him. Kaiba, having just slipped off his shoes, heard footsteps coming toward him and looked up to see Kariana already standing in front of him. She was silent and he looked at her oddly.
"What?" he asked.
"Oh, umm," she started, "I just have a few questions for you."
"I can't guarantee I'll have the answers." Kaiba replied, walking past her.
"Well," she turned and started to follow him, "I'm certain you can. It's just a matter if you will." She stated but got nothing in return. "May I ask them?" she said as she followed him into his office, where he sat down his briefcase.
"Do what you want." Kaiba replied, his back to her as he opened his brief case and shuffled through it.
"Well, first off, and I know it's not any of my business, but I've been wondering why you've been gone so much? I-if it's confidential you can just ignore that question." She said nervously, 'Why is it I'm only confident when I'm angry?' she thought, feeling ashamed of her weakness. Kaiba stopped what he was doing, a sort of groan escaping his throat.
"Do you know what the seventh is?" he asked, turning around and sitting on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed.
"M-Monday?" she replied unsurely, distracted by the glint in his eyes as he looked at her.
Kaiba scoffed, half annoyed but half amused as well. "It's Mokuba's birthday." Suddenly a light clicked on in Kariana's head.
"So…you've been working now…So you can take time off for his birthday?"
Kaiba smirked. "You're smarter than I thought you were, Ushimato." He said, causing her to frown at him. "So what is your other question?" he asked, crossing his ankles.
Kariana paused as she fidgeted with the proper way to ask. "Regarding Saturday's event," she started, and paused when Kaiba's expression changed to something most unpleasant. She turned her eyes away from him as she continued. "I was just wondering, for Mokuba's sake, if you really-"
"Ushimato." Kaiba interrupted, "Stop using Mokuba as a crutch." Kariana looked up, her emerald colored eyes wide in shock and her mouth gaped open ever so slightly. "Go home. I don't want to ever hear you use Mokuba in a sentence like that again. So go home and don't bring this up again." His words stabbed at her like a thousand frozen needles, terrifying her to an unbelievable extent.
"I-I'm sorry." She bowed her head in apology before walking out of his office.
Kaiba sighed, running his hand though his hair before taking his forehead into his left hand. "Ushimato…" he said under his breath, shaking his head.
--FRIDAY--
Today was the first day this week Mokuba had to go to school all day. The home visit lasted for four days (usually it only takes three; I blame Ms. Yamakoto) and in order for the teachers to visit, the school had to let the students out when it was lunch time. I've thought a lot about what Kaiba said to me and I believe him. I've been using Mokuba as an excuse to talk to him and he figured that out before I did. I feel horrible about it because it's true and I wish it wasn't. I hate this feeling but at the same time I can't get enough of it. I think there's something wrong with me…I think I'm falling Seto Kaiba.
"Hey, Mokuba? What do you want for dinner?" Kariana asked as she flipped through a cook book she had taken out of one of the upper cabinets- a book she had left there.
"Dinner? Isn't it a bit early?" the blue eyed boy asked as he hung over the top of the couch, looking at Kariana.
"Don't be silly, it's already-" she stopped as she looked at the clock. "Four forty…" she blinked in confusion. "Huh, I thought it was later than that…Oh well, pick something anyways." Mokuba looked up in thought; his eyes sparkled as an idea came to him.
"Can I have a chocolate parfait?" he asked. Kariana laughed.
"Mokuba, that's a dessert!" she chuckled, holding her hand to her mouth as if to contain her laughter.
"Yeah, but they're really good!" he exclaimed with a pout.
"Okay, okay, we can have some after dinner. Is that alright?"
Mokuba's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really Kari? You mean it?"
"Would I lie to you?" she asked. Mokuba was quiet and looked up in thought again. "Uh, hey now! Are you doubting me? I might just throw this cook book at you." She joked, raising the book above her head as Mokuba put his arms up in defense.
"Meep!"
Both were silent and blinked in confusion. "Was that-?" Kariana started, pointing at Mokuba.
"Don't look at me. I thought it was you." He said in defense.
"If it wasn't me…and it wasn't you then what was it?" Kariana said.
"Um, K-Kari?" Mokuba stuttered, pointing at the counter behind her.
"Hm?" Kariana turned around to see what Mokuba was pointing at and there right on the counter was a tiny grey mouse. Her eyes widened, the color fading from her face as she dropped the cook book on the ground. "M-m-ma-mouse!" she exclaimed, pointing at the fuzzy rodent that stared up at her in curiosity. "Quick! Grab something!"
"Grab what?" Mokuba asked, not really understanding why she was acting so strange.
"A book! A broom! Anything!" she twitched as she ran around the kitchen looking for something. The mouse let out another squeak as it watched Kariana run around.
"Huh. It's not moving." Mokuba thought aloud, "It mustn't feel like it's in danger."
"Mokuba," Kariana said looking between the fridge and the wall before standing back up, "Why aren't you help-" as she turned around and stepped forward her face smacked into the cabinet door she had left open from taking out the cookbook. "-ing?" there was a loud thud as she fell to the ground. The mouse scurried off after Kariana fell, climbing down the phone cord and then running underneath the lower cabinets.
"Kari! Are you alright?!" Mokuba exclaimed as he climbed over the couch.
"What's going on?"
Mokuba stopped and looked over at the door way. "Seto?!" he exclaimed as his older brother looked oddly at him after closing the door.
"What was all that noise about? I could hear you all the way down the hall." Kaiba stated as he took off his shoes.
"W-well, there was this mouse and Kari started to freak out and ended up hitting her head on one of the cabinet doors!" Mokuba explained as he led Kaiba into the kitchen were an unconscious and rather ridiculous looking Kariana was sprawled out on the floor. Kaiba set his briefcase down on the counter and walked over to her unconscious body. Seeing the still open cabinet he closed it and then crouched down beside Kariana.
"Go get a blanket and a pillow, Mokuba. I'll move her to the couch." Kaiba said as he hooked his left arm behind her head and his right under her legs, picking her up.
"Y-yes Seto!" Mokuba nodded and ran off to the laundry room. With a few strides across the living room, Kaiba set Kariana carefully down onto the couch. "You idiot." He said to her unconscious form as Mokuba came out with a blanket and pillow.
"Kari? Kari? Hey, Seto! I think she's waking up!"
"Uwah?" Kariana groaned. She blinked her eyes a few times, a blurry vision of Mokuba hovering above her. She placed her hand on her forehead, where a cold washcloth had been placed and squinted her eyes at the bright light. "M-Mokuba?" she stuttered as her vision became clearer.
"Hey Kari. How are you feeling?" Mokuba asked as she attempted to sit up, the washcloth falling onto her lap.
"I see you finally decided to wake up." Kaiba said as he stood at the entrance of the hallway with his arms crossed, still wearing the black suit he wore to work but without the jacket and shoes.
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" she groaned, rubbing her forehead.
"Perhaps." Kaiba shrugged.
"I picked something out for dinner, Kari." Mokuba said cheerfully.
"You did?" Kari said, still rubbing her forehead. "What is it?"
"Beef fillet with foie gras." Mokuba replied with a smile, pronouncing foie gras perfectly. Kaiba looked oddly at his brother for having said his (Kaiba) favorite food.
Kariana hesitated for a moment. "Umm, okay. The beef fillet part I can definitely do. The foie gras, not so much."
"Oh, okay." Mokuba looked up at Seto but got not real reaction from his brother.
"Wait…what time is it?" Kariana asked and before she could respond Kaiba replied.
"Six o'clock." She looked over at Kaiba, confused.
"Seto came home early." Mokuba informed her, "He's going to spend all weekend with me!" he exclaimed happily.
"Oh," she said, 'I thought he was gonna wait until tomorrow.' She thought as she pulled her legs over the edge of the couch. "Well, I guess I'd better start on dinner then." She smiled.
"Are you sure you can get up, Kari?" Mokuba asked.
"Yeah! Of course." She grinned, standing up to only fall backwards and Mokuba barely catching her. "Woah, guess I got up too fast." She chuckled as Mokuba kept her steady. Kaiba rolled his eyes as the two made their way into the kitchen.
"I'm going to go finish something up." Kaiba stated, turning his back to walk away.
"You're not going to help Seto?" Mokuba asked a little sadly. Kaiba stopped and stood where he was. It took him a few seconds of debating with himself before he responded.
"You can get me when dinner is done." he replied and walked down the hall and into his office. Mokuba let out a sigh after hearing Kaiba's door close.
"It's alright Mokuba." Kariana said, "He just wants to make sure he finishes absolutely everything so he doesn't wind up working during your weekend together." She smiled, pulling out a cookie sheet.
"Yeah, you're right." Mokuba agreed, "Hey Kari, are you afraid of mice?"
Kariana froze for a second. "N-now why would you say that?" she asked with a nervous smile.
"Well, you kind of flipped out earlier and ended up knocking yourself unconscious."
"Oh, yeah…that." She sighed, "Yeah, I have this thing against mice." She said, hanging her head in shame.
Mokuba laughed, "You're funny, Kari."
"Seto! Dinner's ready!" Mokuba called and a minute later the CEO came out from his office. As he walked into the living room he eyed the spectacle before him. "We made lots of food!" Mokuba grinned.
"I can see that." Kaiba replied, raising an eyebrow at the coffee table that was set up as if it were a dinner table. There were three sets of dinner ware, one for the each of them, and each were already filled with beef fillet with some sort of brown sauce-but definitely not foie gras- a baked potato fully dressed in sour cream, chives and shredded cheese, and mixed vegetables.
"Come and sit down Seto." Mokuba smiled, sitting on the ground nearest to the couch, Kariana on his left side. Kaiba took his seat next to Mokuba and looked down at his plate as if analyzing it.
"Mokuba baked the potatoes and dressed them." Kariana said as she took a bite of her potato.
"It…looks nice." Kaiba said, taking his fork into his left hand and his knife in his right, cutting even slices out of the beef fillet. Mokuba, surprisingly enough, started to eat the mixed vegetables.
"This is the first time we've all eaten together, isn't it?" Kariana commented after a while of silence. Mokuba nodded.
"Kari, why are you afraid of mice?" he asked, setting down his fork and knife.
"Um, well," Kariana paused, setting down her own utensils, while Kaiba continued to eat silently. "It's…complicated." She said, picking her utensils back up.
"Oh…When is your birthday, Kari?" Mokuba asked as she was about to cut into her fillet.
"March third." She replied and before she could get a full cut into her fillet was asked another question.
"If you just graduated how come you're not going to college?"
"Because my family didn't have the money."
"You didn't have the money?"
"Nope." She replied, cutting into her food anyways.
"Oh…are you poor?"
"Mokuba, that's enough." Kaiba scolded without looking up from his meal. "You're asking Miss Ushimato too many questions."
"It's alright, Mr. Kaiba, I don't mind it." Kariana reassured him. Mokuba looked from his brother to Kariana.
"How come you guys are so formal with each other?" he asked, "Kari's been here for over a month and you still call each other Miss and Mr."
"Miss Ushimato works for us, it would be improper for me to refer to her as anything but Miss Ushimato." Kaiba replied as he finished his fillet.
"So do I need to call her Miss Ushimato, too?"
"It's different, Mokuba." Kariana smiled, "You could say I'm working with you in a sense so it's alright to call me Kari."
"Oh." Mokuba paused, he hadn't eaten too much of his food while Kariana and Seto were at least half way done; but he still had a few more questions and he wasn't sure when or if all three of them would be together again. "Seto?"
"What is it, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked as he picked up his glass of water.
"Can Kari come with us to Okinawa?" Mokuba asked, causing Kari to choke on her food and Kaiba's drink to spill over the top a bit.
"W-what?" Kariana gasped as she managed to swallow.
"Mokuba, that's not an appropriate question for right now." Kaiba said, feeling uneasy about Mokuba's question.
"But, Seto, we're going for my birthday. Can't I invite Kari?" Mokuba pleaded, leaning forward on the table.
"M-Mokuba, don't you think you're being a bit… irrational?" Kariana asked nervously as Mokuba looked over at her with imploring big blue eyes.
"But Kari…" he said with such an insistent tone.
"Finish your dinner Mokuba. Miss Ushimato and I will discuss this later tonight." Kaiba said, having regained his cool and calm composure.
"You promise Seto?" Mokuba asked, looking hard at his brother.
"Yes. Now finish your dinner." Kaiba promised. Mokuba waited a few seconds before feeling sure his brother was telling the truth and sat down.
'Mokuba,' Kariana thought as she looked back and forth at both boys, 'What have you gotten me into?'
"Mokuba's finally asleep." Kariana informed Kaiba as she leaned into his office. "I'll be going home now." She stated and retreated her upper body from his doorway.
"Miss Ushimato?" Kaiba called and within seconds she leaned back in.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" she replied.
"We need to talk." He reminded her, though fully aware that she had not forgotten but that she was just trying to avoid another awkward conversation.
"Oh…okay." She said and stepped fully inside his office. He was sitting at his desk, his laptop closed and his hands folded neatly before him.
"About what Mokuba said earlier-"
"Oh, it's alright," Kariana interrupted, "I know he was thinking ahead of himself-"
"Let me finish." Kaiba interrupted back, his tone being enough for her to shut her mouth, "Have your bags packed and be ready by seven tomorrow morning." Kariana stared in disbelief.
"What?" she gaped.
"I said have your-"
"No, no. Sorry, I heard you I'm just a bit shocked is all." She paused, "Um, thank you, Mr. Kaiba." She said with a bow of her head.
Kaiba nodded. "Now you may go home, Miss Ushimato." Kariana nodded, closing his door as she walked out of his office.
"Wow." Kariana said aloud as she entered her apartment, taking off her shoes as she closed her door. "I can't believe that happened…" she continued to talk aloud to herself as she passed by her phone, a red light flashing continuously on the answering machine. "I've never been outside of Domino City before…I can't believe I'm going to Okinawa…with Mokuba and Kaiba of all people…" she walked into her room and plopped down onto her tatami mat of a bed. She reached out and grabbed her alarm clock, setting her alarm for five thirty, six hours from then. "Things…have really changed around here…"
Stephan: Bwahahahahahaa! See? See? I said I would get another chapter out didn't I? grin I know this might have sounded a little cliché but it is Mokuba's birthday and I am sticking to a set calendar so why can't I make this happen…okay…my mind is slipping away from me…I need to go to bed sigh