Nataki quickly learned that working at Kaiba Corp meant she had to work at a brisk pace and multi-task readily. Fortunately for her, waitressing at Momo no Ki had helped her develop skills in both of these areas. While Kaiba Corporation was surely a vigorous and busy workplace, it was by no means beyond what she was capable of . . . which Kaiba quickly picked up on. As she progressed through her first week as an employee there, Nataki could sense that he was genuinely pleased by her work. When she arrived Friday morning, he asked if she would mind sitting in on a business meeting of his to take notes and keep a log about what was discussed. Nataki had tried to conceal her excitement at being included in on his professional meeting, but realized she hadn't been very successful as she stood up to leave and saw Kaiba shake his head mockingly.

"Honestly." Kaiba scoffed while stepping out of the meeting room with Nataki trailing behind him. "Your eagerness to attend my board meeting perplexes me."

Nataki's face flushed slightly as she held the small, spiral-bound notepad to her chest. "Why?"

"Why?" Kaiba repeated her question as if making sure he heard her right. "Because I can't see anything I discussed with my Board of Directors being of interest to you." Walking down the hallway and unlocking the door to his office, he continued "Unless you genuinely find it worthwhile to listen to me analyze my company's performance over the past month."

Nataki laughed faintly. "It may surprise you to know that I do actually find some it interesting." Smiling briefly while entering the office behind him she added, "I think I have a renewed appreciation of just how well you handle the stress that comes with being in charge of such a large, successful company."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and shot her a curious glance before proceeding to his desk. "Is that so?"

Nataki nodded and walked over to her desk only to find that she had three missed messages left on the answering machine. Sitting down and retrieving a sticky note, she proceeded to listen to them one by one, writing down the names and phone numbers of each person. After she had jotted that information down she felt, as well as heard her stomach growl in hunger. Looking up at the clock she gasped – it was well into her lunch break. But I should call these people back first . . .

As she set to work contacting the business associates and shareholders who had called, Nataki noticed Kaiba's cobalt eyes glancing up from the computer at her momentarily. She returned the gaze briefly before she heard a voice on the other end of the phone call.

"Hi Nakamura-san, it's Kuzana, Nataki from Kaiba Corporation." She said, her voice calm and congenial. "I'm so sorry to have missed your call. What can I do for you today?"

She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw Kaiba smirk a bit before returning his attention to whatever he was working on.

"Yes, you have an appointment scheduled for Friday, August 5th at 2:30PM. Would you like to reschedule?" She asked while tracing her finger along the desk calendar, looking for a day with available time slots. "Unfortunately Kaiba-san is booked solid for the next two weeks. The next available half hour slots he has available are a 12:30PM or 4:30PM for Monday the 23rd. Would either of those work for you?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, she heard the man respond with a bit irritated and penciled his name onto the calendar. Looking up briefly, she saw that Kaiba's eyes were no longer casting a glance in her direction, but he was smirking a bit. "Alright Nakamura-san, you are now scheduled to meet with Kaiba-san at 12:30PM on Monday, August 23rd. Have a good day." With a sigh she sat back in her seat. One down and two more to go.

A little over half an hour later, Nataki was finally able to take her lunch break. Standing up and retrieving her bento from the fridge she smiled.

"I'm taking lunch now, Kaiba-san." She stated casually.

"Okay." He replied, not looking up from his work.

He's always doing that. She thought to herself in slight irritation. In the past week, she hadn't seen him stop to eat something, anything, even once. He would drink a glass of ice water during the afternoon, and a couple cups of black coffee in the morning and late afternoon, but she couldn't remember seeing him eat. Looking over at the man, she found herself in a pickle. It know it's not my place, but he has to eat something . . .

"Would you like to join me?" She asked suddenly, hoping it sounded nonchalant rather than awkward.

Kaiba said nothing for a moment, which created a feeling of unease in Nataki, who was looking over at him somewhat expectantly. "No thanks." He finally said in response.

"Okay." She breathed before spinning her chair slightly away from him in an attempt to hide the embarrassment on her face. As she removed the lid from her bento and grasped her chopsticks in her hand, she felt the need to add, "But please take some time to eat something. I haven't seen you eat a single thing all week during my time here."

Kaiba shook his head before replying, "Not hungry."

"Really?" She inquired, her voice doing little to conceal her disbelief.

With a slightly agitated sigh, the CEO nodded. "Really. Now if you don't mind, I'm in the middle of analyzing a report."

"Oh!" Nataki exclaimed before an apologetic look claimed her face. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He muttered while resuming his work, leaving Nataki to eat her lunch in a somewhat awkward silence.

When her lunch break was over, Nataki started typing up the notes she had taken during the meeting earlier. About halfway through her work, the phone rang and she quickly picked it up from the receiver. "Good afternoon. Kaiba-san's office. Kuzana, Nataki speaking." She began.

"Why, hello Kuzana-san." A soft, somewhat familiar female voice replied over the phone. "What a pleasant surprise."

Nataki blinked but hesitated a moment before responding. "May I ask who's calling?"

A brief silence was quickly followed by "It's Ishtar, Isis from the Domino City Museum. How are you, Kuzana-san?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." A pause. "How are you, Ishtar-san?"

"I'm doing well, thanks." After a brief moment of silence she added, "I didn't know you were working for Seto."

"I just started this Monday, actually." She replied somewhat hesitantly.

"Is that so?" As if sensing Nataki's reluctance, she added, "Well, I wish you luck."

"Thank you." Nataki said softer than she had meant to.

"You're welcome." A pause. "Well, I suppose I should ask if Seto is available to speak with me? It is of great importance."

Nataki looked over in the direction of Kaiba's desk and saw that he was still concentrating on reading something over. "Let me check." She said finally to Isis before covering the bottom of the phone with her hand. "Kaiba-san, are you available?"

"Who is it?" He asked without looking over at her.

"It's Ishtar, Isis from the Domino City Museum." She began, curling the cord around her index finger. "She says it's important that she speak with you."

Kaiba's cobalt eyes narrowed upon hearing who it was and he sighed deeply. His face seemed to show that he was mulling over whether or not to accept the call, which seemed strange to Nataki. And yet, as her memory of the most recent trip to museum came to mind, she remembered what Isis had said about Kaiba being a reincarnation of some ancient Egyptian priest – still a seemingly absurd idea, but pervasive nonetheless. He must know about it, and he's probably spoken with Ishtar-san before. Maybe that's why . . . ? His response came reluctantly. "Transfer her to me."

Nataki merely nodded. "I'm transferring you to him right now, Ishtar-san." She said into the phone.

"Thank you so much." She replied. "Take care."

The CEO picked up his phone and addressed her with what sounded like irritation. "What is it now, Isis?"

While resuming her typing, Nataki couldn't help wondering what Isis could possibly be calling about. And the way he emphasized "now," like there was something he was referring back to before that he had to talk to her about. She didn't want to be nosy, so she tried her best to focus on typing up the rest of the notes from the meeting, but . . .

"You've got to be kidding me." She heard Kaiba practically hiss into the phone, his words dripping with venom. And then he looked over at Nataki with an intense scrutiny she had never seen in his eyes before, causing her to shift uncomfortably in her seat and stare fixated at the screen until the words in front of her started to blur. Somehow, Isis's phone call had drastically transformed the atmosphere in the office, like an omen of something bad to come, and Nataki swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. He sounds upset . . . and why is he looking at me like that?

"Kuzana." He said, voice sharp and crisp. "Go see if Mokuba needs assistance. He's working on his Capsule Monsters project downstairs – tenth floor."

Nataki blinked, somewhat taken aback by the sudden shift in his demeanor and new assignment. Perplexed, but not about to protest, she saved her work on the computer, stood up from her seat, and proceeded toward the door. "Okay. I'll be back later."

Kaiba merely nodded, gesturing for her to hurry along so he could resume his phone conversation with Isis.

As Nataki walked to the elevator and pressed the button to send the elevator to her floor she felt her heart beating more intensely. What was that about? And what could she possibly be telling him that's so private? He's never asked me to leave before, so why . . . ? Within a minute the elevator doors opened and Nataki stepped inside, her mind racing with questions and then one that sent a shudder through her. Oh god, what if she's talking to him about what we saw at the museum? Nataki had smothered the urge to ask him and Yugi about what Isis had shown her and Akana at the museum, but if Isis mentioned that she and Akana knew about them . . .

The doors opened, and Nataki absentmindedly stepped out – not remembering whether or not she had actually pressed the button for the tenth floor, too caught up in her own thoughts. Luckily enough she had, and as she walked down the hall she started to look for Mokuba only to find him tinkering away in a technical supply room – plastic Capsule Monster pieces on the table in front of him, blueprint off to the side. Upon hearing her knock on the door, he looked up. Surprise flooded his dark violet eyes and then he smiled.

"Hi Kuzana-san." He greeted. "What are you doing down here?"

"Hi Mokuba-san." She replied, closing the door gently behind her. "Your brother asked me to check in with you regarding your Capsule Monsters project and see if you needed any help?"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow curiously, not quite convinced by her explanation. But his skepticism was quickly replaced by an eagerness to show her his progress with the game, however, and he gestured for her to take a seat next to him. "First of all, do you even know what Capsule Monsters is?"

Nataki shook her head. "No, I've never heard of it."

"I figured as much." He said with a sigh. "It's outdated, I suppose, but I'm going to fix that." Pointing to the blue print on the table he continued, "It's basically a combination of Duel Monsters and chess. It requires a lot of strategy, too."

Nataki smiled. "It sounds interesting."

"Yeah, and instead of using these plastic capsule pieces and the chess-like board, I'm trying to make it compatible with the virtual systems that my brother has created to make Duel Monsters more engaging and interactive." Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he smirked. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Very cool, indeed." She said while grabbing one of the plastic capsules and rolling it between her fingers. "I'd love to play it sometime."

"How about now?" He suggested suddenly. "I mean, technically, you would be helping me."

"Oh, I don't know . . ." Nataki tried. She already felt like she was treading on somewhat thin ice with Kaiba (for reasons unbeknownst to her). Based on how his temperament had changed somewhat abruptly, she assumed it was getting thinner and didn't want to fall through. "Maybe some other time."

"Aw, come on!" He pleaded. "It'll be fun! I can never get Seto to play it with me, and it'll help me perfect my plans for improving upon the original game."

Before she could answer, Nataki felt her cell phone vibrate from inside the pocket of her blazer. "Hold that thought." She said softly while retrieving her phone, only to see that she had received a text from Kaiba informing her to return to his office. Nataki felt the blood leave her face, and Mokuba seemed to notice.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Ah, yes." She replied somewhat disjointedly, trying to regain her composure. "I need to return to the office. I'll check in with you some other time, okay?"

Mokuba nodded. "Okay. See you later." He said with a wave before returning his attention to the project before him.

Closing the door behind her, Nataki wished she could just be done for the day. She didn't know what to expect when she returned to his office, and she was actually starting to dread her return, but her feet trudged onward anyway. The elevator ride up to the twelfth floor was much too quick, and she took a deep breath as she stepped off and proceeded into his office. Her dark blue eyes scanned the room only to see him standing near her desk, arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes followed her, like a predator watched its prey before going in for the kill, and Nataki felt her breath catch in the back of her throat. She came to a stop in front of him and tried to smile. She wasn't able to think of anything to say, but felt the desperate need to break the ice.

"Hi." She tried cautiously.

Kaiba gave no reply. He simply stood there a moment longer, taking in as much of her as possible and then shaking his head almost as if in disbelief. "Fantastic." She heard him mumble in frustration under his breath as he returned to his desk. Once he was seated he resumed typing and Nataki didn't know what to do or say to try to dissipate the awkwardness between them.

"Your brother showed me his blue print." She started. "It looks really interesting."

Kaiba said nothing as he resumed his work, and Nataki realized that, at this rate, her remaining three hours would probably feel much longer. Well, I guess that's that. She thought to herself sadly while sitting down at her desk and trying to get back into the groove with her work.

When her shift finally ended, Nataki exhaled deeply and organized her desk area for Monday morning. Shutting her computer down, she slowly stood up and stretched. As much as she dreaded the inevitable "bring the typed notes and other work over to him" routine, she wanted nothing more than to be done for the week and leave the office. Gently, she set down the pile of work she completed on the corner of his desk and turned away, not wanting to see that sharp look in his eyes again.

"Here is everything from today." Turning on her heel to leave she added, "Have a good weekend, Kaiba-san."

Before she could turn the door handle to leave, Kaiba's voice stopped her.

"Hold on, Kuzana."

Freezing in place, Nataki kept her eyes straight ahead. "Yes?"

"I apologize for my . . . change in demeanor earlier." Massaging his temples he added, "I had a somewhat frustrating phone call earlier, and I suppose haven't been able to get over it." He stated flatly. So she did day something that upset him. I wonder if it was about me or Akana-san at all?

Nataki slowly turned to face him and saw that his cobalt eyes seemed a bit less severe. "So you weren't upset with me?" She asked.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "No." A pause. "Should I be?"

Nataki's eyes widened slightly. "No, I don't . . . think so? I mean, I don't remember doing anything wrong or anything, but . . ." Then, she added "I mean, I guess I bothered you when I suggested that you eat something."

Kaiba sighed tiredly. "I wasn't upset. I don't like people telling me what to do."

Nataki bowed. "I didn't it mean to come across that way. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He retorted flatly. "Thanks for your hard work this week. Enjoy the weekend."

Nataki nodded slowly and started to turn back toward the door. "Thank you, Kaiba-san." She smiled politely, although she felt a bit unsteady inside. "You too."

As she closed the door behind her, Kaiba sighed deeply while brushing his bangs back from his face. "I'm so fuckin' done with this supernatural bullshit" he muttered under his breath before retrieving his cell phone and dialing Yugi's number. After the second ring he received an answer.

"Kaiba-kun?" His voice was soft and somewhat concerned. "What is it?"

"I have a feeling you already know." Kaiba stated flatly into the phone. "We need to talk. I'll send Isono to come pick you up. And don't bring any of your nerd herd with you." Almost as abruptly as he had called the CEO hung up, leaving Yugi in a state of bewilderment, and the phone line empty.

A/N: For the first time in forever . . . the story extends beyond Nataki's immediate experiences, and we get to see Kaiba calling Yugi about a certain something~ I hope you start to feel the anticipation building progressively throughout each chapter, so stay tuned for some exciting, and hopefully jaw-dropping moments! :)

As always, I look forward to hearing from you!