Hello, hello! Welcome back for Ch. 4! Once again, I realize it's been *cough* a while since the last update, but my determination is improving! Slowly, but optimistically… Anyway, enjoy the semi-long chapter!

The following days came and went throughout the new semester. Students were forced back to following a familiar routine of letting each class flow into the next, until the actions were eventually repeated the following morning. Going through the motions once again, students became particularly bored due to an unchanging system of routines and classes.

Being the period just before lunch hour, students grew particularly anxious. Any instruction became void as the clock ticked closer to the end of the hour. The room became a sound system of meticulous tapping and fidgeting as the lesson was drowned out. Any student still intent on making sense of the lesson tried their best to ignore the less motivated teens. Putting up with the array of disruptions, the teacher still pursued the subject of interest. As the action seemed harder and harder to follow through with, he eventually set down his chalk and turned towards the group of lax teenagers.

"Despite the new semester just starting," he began, "you all apparently seem uninterested. So, I'll give you something to think about for the end of class—the term project."

Finally sparking an attention span, a unanimous groan filled the room, causing any other noise to cease.

"Quiet, it's time you all started gaining some motivation." He said as he eyed the noticeably uninterested students. "The project isn't due until winter break, but I highly suggest you start early. This isn't something you can complete last-minute overnight."

Some students scoffed at the last remark, as if making plans to do the very thing advised against.

"For this project, I think it best that we do something different and make it a partner project."

Students began eyeing around the room trying to determine a suitable partner.

"Before you all start making plans, I will be the one choosing partners for everyone. Any requests to work in larger groups or alone will be denied." The teacher went over to his desk to assemble the necessary materials and attendance sheet. "I'll start calling pairings one by one. Once I do, someone from your group needs to come up to get your topic and instructions. Your topic will reflect work on the next unit of debate and ethics, so it'll reflect issues going around in today's society."

While the teacher began listing off pairings, materials were gathered individually as the students tried to make sense of the assignment. Glances and conversations were exchanged between students and their assigned partners.

"Todoh and Okumura…" the instructor continued to read down the list. "Mazaki and Muto… Kaiba and Akagi…"

A slight twitch ran through Lydia's nerves. It sparked like a signal of warning, but also one of confusion. The second reaction was wondering if the names were heard correctly. However, the amount of times that the names rang in her ears proved that they were true. All that was left for her was to simply keep wondering how. It was a pure coincidence, but one so unlikely that it was baffling.

After naming off every pair, the bell rang throughout the halls, prompting students to hurriedly dismiss themselves. Lydia hastily gathered her things and darted for her locker. The more steps she took, the more thoughts seem to run through her head. How? What are the odds of this? As she mulled through her confusion, she opened her locker and merely stared at the contents. She didn't have an issue with working with the young CEO, but worried whether or not they'd actually get anything done. He doesn't seem like a 'team player' kind of person… she thought, Maybe I should ask for another partner.

As she sifted through her things, she couldn't help but chuckle at the mere coincidence of the situation. The more she thought of the situation though, the less improbable that it seemed. She mentally laughed at herself for initially fussing over it. Certainly it wouldn't be that bad, right? Although, the pair's lack of familiarity with one another combined with the CEO's supposed difficult personality began to cause doubt.

"Lydia?"

To the side of her stood her addresser; a shorter student with tri-colored hair. To his left was a cute brunette while a tall boy with shaggy blonde hair was on his right; the latter shrugged while the other two smiled towards her.

"You're Lydia, right?" the boy repeated.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," she replied shaking herself. "You're in my Social Studies class. You're… Yugi?"

"Yup. This is Tea; she's in our class too. And that's Joey."

"Hi!"

"Hey there,"

"We're also in the same homeroom too."

The group nodded amongst each other. A brief pause soon fell between them with no one knowing who to speak first. "Is there something I can do for you guys?" Lydia finally asked.

"Well, kind of," Yugi ran a hand through his spiked hair. "It's just that we noticed you were paired with Kaiba for the Social Studies project and I guess you could say we want to offer our support."

"Support? What do you mean?"

"We just wanted to let you know that if you ever want to switch partners, we're available to help." Tea explained. "I know we don't really know each other, but Yugi has a better chance at tolerating Kaiba than anyone else."

"Yeah; an exception could probably be made if we just ask."

Lydia blinked, making no motion to give a response. Are they serious? Based on the group's expressions, she concluded it wasn't a hoax. Logically, the idea seemed favorable since she lacked the familiarity with him that the trio seemed to have already acquired. She parted her lips to speak, but her thoughts soon consumed her. She was interested in learning about the person that her family does business with. The situation may be her only chance to realize it, she thought.

Reaching a conclusion, her lips parted into a smile. "That's very sweet of you guys, but I can handle it."

Yugi and Tea exchanged glances with one another as if to confirm that what they heard was true. "Are you sure?" Tea questioned.

"Yep,"

"Are ya crazy?" Joey added. "You want to willingly work wit' Kaiba?"

"Yeah, I'm confident I can handle it."

"Any sane person couldn't. You know him or somethin'?"

"No, not really."

Joey blinked. A puzzled look draped his features as a silence fell over the group. His lips soon formed a smirk. "Well, I give ya credit for havin' guts."

"Right," Yugi agreed. "If you're certain then we won't push farther on it."

Lydia nodded. "You all must know Kaiba pretty well since you're so adamant about the situation," she began. "Are you friends?"

Joey scoffed. "With that rich bastard? Nah,"

Tea sharply nudged the blond in his ribs, giving him a condescending glare.

"Well," Yugi began sheepishly. "what Joey means is that it's a bit complicated. But deep down, he is our friend."

"Is he as bad as he seems?"

"No; he's just a bit… rough around the edges. It just takes some getting used to."

"I see. So, is there—"

"Hey, did the bell ring yet?" Joey interrupted.

"Yeah, it rang just a few minutes ago," Tea confirmed as she glanced at her watch.

"What! That means lunch has already started! Shit, I gotta beat Tristan to the good food!" Joey's voice began to trail off as he darted down the hallway.

"J-Joey! Wait up!" Yugi called as he disappeared in the same direction.

Tea shook her head with a grin planted on her expression. "I guess I should catch up to them," she sighed.

"They'll probably need you to keep them in line," Lydia laughed.

"Right. Well, we'll see you in class." Tea stepped past her and went to catch up with the duo. She took another step and then stopped before turning back around. "Oh, if you ever change your mind about the project, let us know."

"Thanks, Tea,"

The brunette smiled before running off in search of her friends. Watching her fade from view, Lydia emptied the contents of her locker before going in the opposite direction. Although their conversation was brief, she found that she enjoyed talking with the trio. However, as she thought back to just moments ago, she realized that she'd soon have to face an inevitable interaction. I guess I should try to find Kaiba, she concluded.

As she made her way toward the classroom, a sense of anxiousness settled within her. She couldn't exactly pinpoint from what exactly, but guessed that it may have just been the intimidation of the interaction. Coming close to the room, she realized a hesitation still resided. She tried to push past it, but was still restrained. No, she concluded, it wasn't an internal hesitation that bound her, but rather a physical force. The force pulled her backwards as she spun around to meet its catalyst. Lydia opened her mouth to object to the person, but shut it promptly when she found that a tall figure stood before her like a blank slate written on only with intimidation. Speak of the devil, she mentally sighed.

"Oh, Kaiba," she greeted. "fancy seeing you here,"

"Since this project appears to be mandatory, I suppose I'll have to get used to your company. I trust you won't cause any major inconveniences during this duration."

Lydia bit her tongue. "I don't intend to."

"Hn, come to my building at seven tonight; we'll discuss topics then. I'd like to complete this nuisance as quickly as possible."

The brunet went to turn away before Lydia's voice stopped him. "Why does this all depend upon your schedule?" she said as she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Excuse me?" His glare sharpened as he turned to her.

"Why is this all about you? Why can't we mutually agree on when to meet up?"

"You clearly don't know who you're talking to,"

"I do, though,"

Kaiba's glare narrowed as she spoke. Despite this, the rest of his features didn't show any sign of expression.

"We meet at seven tonight at my office. I have zero tolerance for tardiness."

Before she could retort, the brunet turned swiftly and walked away. Lydia sighed and wandered off in the opposite direction.

O.O.O

The ebony-haired boy gave a sigh to himself. The space around him held no one but the air surrounding him. Dimness began filling the room as any remaining sunlight slowly faded. He set down his handheld game system and eyed the room slowly. His brother's meeting supposedly ended over a half hour ago, so why hadn't he returned? The boy gave an annoyed sigh. With the amount of time he spends annually waiting for his brother to finish working, he began to think that it may be a better idea to just be taken home already.

Still, the times he spent with his sibling grew narrower, so he decided to wait it out. He sunk back lower into the couch as he tried to remain optimistic. A few moments later, a sound was heard at the door. The boy perked up at the sound. After a period of silence, another knock was given. He wondered who would be knocking, when most of the company's employees were aware that an important meeting was occurring. Although, he did recall his brother briefly mentioning a guest that planned to stop by; although vague, that had to be the only explanation.

"Come in," he instructed.

The door slowly opened and the visitor stepped forward. Standing at the opposite end of the room was a teenage girl of average height and a slim build, although she lacked the tan complexion of most people in the town. She had dark brown hair that was hung in a high ponytail, letting her waves hang freely. She let out an annoyed sigh and shook her head to loosen her bangs from her face, causing her grey eyes to meet with the boy's. Her expression changed to smile at him.

"Sorry, this is Kaiba's office, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but my brother's not here right now, as you can see." He smiled. "I'm Mokuba,"

"Lydia," she replied as she extended a hand to shake his. Brother?, she exclaimed. That's hard to believe; this kid seems so friendly. "Nice to meet you,"

Mokuba eyed the girl closely and noticed the high school uniform she was sporting. "Do you go to school with Seto?"

"Oh, yeah. We were assigned to work on a class project together, actually."

"I see," he nodded slowly. "So, how do you—"

"Mokuba,"

The pair turned to see the young CEO standing in the doorway. His stern glare shifted between the two.

"Hey, Bro!"

"The driver's downstairs waiting to take you home, Mokuba. Don't wait up for me."

Mokuba's smile faded slightly, but nodded anyway. "Alright," he began to make his way past his brother. "It was nice meeting you, Lydia!"

She waved goodbye to him before he was soon out of sight. The brunet closed the door and made his way over to his desk.

"He's a cute kid," Lydia smiled.

Kaiba gave a curt nod as he seated himself at his desk. "It's good to see that you're capable of being punctual. At least someone here is."

"And you being fashionably late, I see." She smiled.

"Hmph, not of my own accord. As I said, most people here aren't exactly the definition of 'timely'."

She raised an eyebrow to him followed by a short sigh. "Well, I suppose I can understand that." She took a seat across from his desk.

"Hn, whatever; let's just get this over with."

Lydia reached into her bag and pulled out a short stack of papers. "I didn't look at the topic yet because I figured we could just discuss it," she sifted through the papers to find the sheet marked with their assigned topic. "'Based on its ability to manipulate society, is virtual reality considered dangerous?'" she read aloud.

"What?" Kaiba hissed.

"What?"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"I don't know, it doesn't seem that improbable." Lydia shrugged.

"Of course you'd say that," Kaiba glared.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Hn, perhaps you're not as intelligent as I initially suspected."

Lydia carefully began to study the brunet's demeanor. He sat with his fingers steepled upon his desk and his glare hard. She began to raise an eyebrow to him. "You do know that the topics were randomized by group, right? They're not trying to intentionally slander your company's work."

"Hmph, clearly," He replied in a sarcastic tone.

"They're not,"

"Whatever,"

"Anyway, the instructions say we need to write a research paper that's at least five pages in length. We need to touch on both sides of the argument and then reach a logical conclusion. We also need to summarize the paper into a presentation for the class."

"That seems like a pretty mediocre quality project to me."

"Well, those are the requirements."

"I don't settle for mediocrity."

Lydia sighed. "Kaiba, I know you're less than enthused with working with someone else on a project, but I'm trying to make this easy on you." The brunet's cold stare didn't change. "I have to get home; I don't want to keep bantering."

Lydia got up from her chair and turned to the door as she swung her bag over her shoulder. The brunet sat back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine, I suppose the quality is doable if done right," he sighed. "But I expect accurate research."

Lydia turned around to meet eyes with the CEO.

"We can discuss our outline another time this week. Before then, we should start gathering research. Is that sufficient enough?"

Lydia grinned. "It's a deal,"

Wow, I'm glad it's finally done! Hopefully the awkward moments in the chapter were still doable and Kaiba doesn't seem that bad. Although he doesn't seem OOC per say, something about him felt a little off, but maybe it's just the context of the narrative, who knows? Thanks for reading!