A/N: Thanks to james. collins .77770 and his reviews, here is ch. 7! Yay!
WARNING: This chapter contains a moment where Wheeler gets his ass beaten.
And as always, don't forget to review!
Enjoy ch. 7!
Four Weeks Later…
Everything had been running smoothly at the office. Seto did have some irritable outbursts in front of Misty when he got stressed out, especially about meetings, but it was nothing she couldn't smooth over. The paper mountains on his desk had been scaled down about 70%, Seto was becoming more relaxed, and Mokuba was happier, doing better on his schoolwork, and sincerely enjoying Shakespeare more since Misty would help him for a bit after daily dueling practices. She was hell-bent on beating Seto. With each practice, she got better and more confident, and she got closer and closer, but still had yet to beat him. She also occasionally practiced with Mokuba and they each had wins and losses over the other. In addition, for some variety, Seto also had her dueling the duel computer, and she would win those. Seto was impressed that she seemed to get better and stronger each day.
"She's getting close," Seto's inner self observed.
"Close doesn't matter. She still hasn't beaten me yet," Seto retorted with a smirk.
"Alright, but don't be surprised when she does," his inner self countered.
"Why would I be? I'm not the kind of person who gets surprised that easily," Seto stubbornly replied.
"If you say so," his inner self replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"Do you want to try dueling me again?" Seto challenged Misty after she beat the computer.
"Sure," Misty agreed and readied her deck and focused her fierce chocolate eyes on him. Seto had his icy, cobalt eyes fiercely focused on her and smirked. "Ready for another loss?" he taunted.
"This time, I won't lose," Misty declared with a defiant smirk.
"You said that last time, and all the other times before that too," he reminded her. "This time, I want you to mean it!"
"I do mean it!" Misty shot back. "Enough talk, let's duel!"
"Indeed," Seto agreed. The duel was incredible and intense as they traded tricky moves. Seto was impressed by her honed tricky skills. She dueled like she could've competed well in tournaments. It was neck and neck, and then she finally pulled a winning combination and won.
"I WON!" Misty exclaimed incredulously. Seto was stunned; she ACTUALLY won! His inner self guffawed that she actually won.
"I told you not to be surprised! I told you she was going to finally beat you!" his inner self crowed proudly. Once Seto recovered, he smirked and clapped for her.
"Not bad," Seto conceded.
"Not bad? That's all you have to say?" Misty replied.
"Congratulations, you did it. Is that satisfactory?" Seto retorted teasingly.
"Thank you," Misty beamed proudly. Seto nodded with a smirk.
"This calls for a celebration!" Misty exclaimed proudly.
"What do you have in mind?" Seto asked curiously.
"Well, how about we take a break and go to the coffee shop and get something?" Misty suggested.
"You buying?" Seto asked teasingly.
"Sure, ok," Misty said with a shrug. Seto was surprised.
"Nah, it's ok, I'll get it," he announced. It felt weird to let a woman buy him a drink if he was there with her, and he supposed he could reward her with something small for finally doing what only a handful of people could do- besting him in a duel.
"Okay, if you want to," Misty replied. She frankly didn't care who got the drinks, but it was nice to be treated. They got in the elevator and went to the ground floor and Edward drove them to Seto's favorite coffee shop. Once they got out, Misty thanked Edward, as usual, and walked inside with Seto. Seto sighed contently smelling the aroma of the different coffee smells. Misty noticed they had a valentine themed- menu. She forgot that this was valentine week.
"Aww crap… I forgot to get a boyfriend again," Misty thought, paraphrasing Phillip J. Fry from Futurama. She should probably buy a few valentine cards to give to Edward, Roland, Foguta, and of course Seto and Mokuba.
"You know, your valentine is right next to you," her inner self teased nudging her. As she thought about valentine cards, she realized it might be awkward if she picked a mushy card for him, so she figured she might get some general valentine cards. That should work. Her inner self rolled her eyes.
"Why don't you get him a flirty card, as a joke?" her inner self suggested.
"No, because what if he takes it wrong?" Misty reasoned. Her inner self pursed her lips.
"You're no fun…"
"Yeah, I know, I'm BORING," Misty retorted flippantly.
"Yes you are," her inner self agreed. "Are you going to get him something?"
"I might get him some good coffee beans for his coffeemaker, and maybe some sweet creamer," Misty suggested.
"That's a good idea," her inner self replied with a slight nod. "What about Mokuba?"
"Maybe some candy," Misty suggested.
"Yeah, that's perfect. You know, you could also make valentines with your Cricut machine," her inner self suggested.
"That's a thought. I'll have to think about it," Misty agreed.
"Fair enough," her inner self replied. Seto also noticed the valentine stuff and he felt uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?" his inner self asked.
"All the valentine stuff…" Seto answered.
"So?"
"All the couples are so nauseating… and I don't have anyone to spend Valentine's Day with."
"Bullshit… she's right next to you," his inner self retorted. Seto was still unsure. "Valentine's Day would be perfect to ask her. You could get her a card and something nice and meaningful," his inner self goaded.
"I'll think about it…" Seto replied.
"You've got a few days," his inner self encouraged.
"So, what will you have?" Seto asked Misty. Misty put a finger to her lips in thought as she looked at the valentine-themed menu.
"That raspberry chocolate truffle iced latte sounds good," Misty told him.
"Alright," Seto replied and soon it was their time to order.
"Give me a large white chocolate mocha and a large raspberry chocolate truffle iced latte," Seto ordered. The barista nodded and told him the total and he paid for them. When she asked for names, he told her Kaiba and Misty told her Misty. They waited for the drinks off to the side and when the drinks were ready, Misty went to the napkin bar with the sugar packets and the chocolate powder and added more chocolate powder to her drink. Seto stared at her curiously with an eyebrow raised.
"You already have chocolate in there, and you're adding MORE chocolate?" he asked incredulously.
"Don't judge me. One can never have too much chocolate," Misty retorted and put the powder down when she was satisfied and mixed it in with her straw. "Thank you, by the way." She told him with a smile.
"You're welcome. I swear, you and Mokuba are quite alike. He LOVES chocolate too," Seto observed.
"I gathered," Misty replied with another smile. She noticed Mokuba did enjoy his chocolate, as study snacks. Seto nodded. They left the coffee shop and were walking back to the limo sipping on their drinks when lo and behold an unwelcome group of people showed up.
"Hey Kaiba!" the short young man with blond, purple, and red SPIKED hair; violet eyes ; jeans; black shirt; a blue jacket; black pointed short boots greeted Seto. Seto immediately tensed up.
"'Ey Kaiba," the tall blond young man with jeans and a white shirt with blue sleeves and blue stripes on his shirt greeted in a thick Brooklyn accent. He had a blonde woman with wavy hair; violet eyes, heavy makeup; a short purple skirt; a corset tank barely covering cleavage; and a purple vest on his arm. They were both wearing wedding rings.
"Hey Kaiba," the other members of their group greeted. Seto looked more tensed up. Misty looked at the other people in the group. She noticed there was a tall brunet man with a shark-fin pompadour, jeans, and a white shirt with brown jacket, and tennis shoes; a shy, timid woman with ginger colored hair, brown eyes, and a pink dress; and a brunette skinny woman with blue eyes, a yellow sleeveless shirt, a red skirt, and red, heeled sandals. Seto grumbled and had a narrowed, hard gaze at them.
"Yugi, Wheeler, Mai, Tristan, other Wheeler, Tea…" Seto greeted back icily.
"Having a nice day Kaiba?" Yugi asked.
"It was nice, before you losers came along," Seto snapped.
"Geez Kaiba, you still haven't changed… you're still da biggest jerk around," Joey Wheeler retorted, then noticed Misty standing beside Kaiba. He looked her over from her long, wavy brown hair; her wild chocolate eyes; her turquoise sweater; Blue Eyes White Dragon necklace; dark denim, curvy fit, boot cut jeans; and her brown and turquoise cowboy boots with the square toes. His wife, Mai, nudged him for staring at her like that.
"Who's dis? Your whore?" the rest of the group gasped in shock and horror.
"Joey! What is the matter with you?!" the group exclaimed.
"I'm so sorry about my friend!" Yugi apologized to Misty.
"No, I don't accept your apology," Misty retorted and glared at Joey. "I want it from HIM!" She demanded as she stabbed a finger in Joey's direction. Her face started to take on demonic features that she was apt to get when she was angry, and her chocolate brown eyes burned with a vicious, raging fire. The group gasped and started backing down. "You better watch who you call a whore, you ignorant Yankee loser!" Misty snarled, and her voice took on a scary undertone.
"Los-ah? I ain't no los-ah!" Joey snarled.
"Oh yes you are!" Misty shot back in a demon voice and thrust her iced latte into Seto's hand, along with her purse.
"Why are you handing me your drink and purse?" Seto asked surprised. He wasn't expecting to become a coatrack to Misty right now.
"Because I'm about to beat the shit out of this fucking moron!" Misty snarled. Now THAT was something Seto was eager to see.
"Holy shit! Is she about to do what I think she is?!" Seto's inner self exclaimed shocked, in tandem with Tristan saying it aloud.
"I think she is!" Yugi observed horrified.
"Joey! Apologize to her!" Tea and Mai commanded him. They didn't want to see him get his ass beaten.
"No!" Joey stubbornly refused.
"Don't be an idiot, hon!" Mai begged. Misty had a crazy, Joker-esque laugh.
"Too late for that!" Misty told them maniacally and faced him. "And it's a mistake that will cost him dearly. "How DARE you disrespect me and my boss!" Misty snarled and slapped him HARD across the jaw with a thunderous clap. "Do you insult any new women you meet like that, or am I just special?" Misty added with venomous sarcasm and slapped the other side of his jaw with the same brute force.
"Nobody…in der right mind…would…evah be seen…wid dat Jerk!" Joey retorted.
"You don't know when to shut the fuck up don't you?!" Misty growled and then introduced her boot to his balls and then his stomach with a solid kick. She then gripped his hair and slammed his face into her thigh.
"You're…as much…of a jerk…as he is! You…two belong tahgether." Misty growled with mad exasperation and started punching his face repeatedly, especially in the mouth.
"Had enough?!" Misty snarled as she stood over him. Joey was battered and bruised and groaning in pain and coughing and spitting up blood. Misty then crouched down and gripped his hair hard and whispered in his ear.
"Listen here you trashy yapping mutt, if you ever disrespect me, Mr. Kaiba, or even Mokuba like that EVER again, I will make sure that the punishment will be MUCH worse than what I just gave you right now. I will be your worst nightmare. Do you understand me?" Misty hissed in a demon voice in his ear. Joey nodded.
"Good! Now we demand an apology for your disrespectful insults!" Misty demanded still gripping his hair tight and started to twist it painfully.
"I'm sorry!" Joey yelped.
"Apology accepted, "Misty told him and looked to Seto. "Mr. Kaiba? Do you accept his apology?" Seto's icy, cobalt eyes were wide with shock and he nodded. Misty let go of Joey's hair roughly and then Yugi and his friends immediately rushed over to help their battered friend.
"Listen here WELL," Misty hissed at them. "If it happens again from ANY of y'all, especially him, I will NOT hesitate to give y'all the same treatment!" Misty warned in her demon voice. "Learn to control that yapping mutt. Mr. Kaiba, let's go," she said as she spun on her heel and gently got her purse and drink from her stunned boss and started walking back to the limo. Seto soon caught up with her once he snapped out of his stunned trance.
"Did…that… really just happen?" he asked her.
"You better believe it did," Misty replied and sipped her latte.
"That was…that was…incredible!" Seto remarked awestruck. "I've always wanted to do that, but he was more annoying than anything, and didn't really have reason to kick his ass like that!" Seto babbled incredulously.
"Serves him right for disrespecting us," Misty replied nonchalantly.
"Indeed… I honestly wasn't expecting you to turn into a…vicious demon like that," Seto admitted. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
"Alright," Misty replied and nodded curtly. She gave Edward a friendly smile as he opened the door for them.
"Thank you Edward," Misty told him with a nod as she got in and got settled. Seto immediately settled in beside her and was a little closer than usual. Misty noticed, but said nothing, even though they could feel the sparks of the electricity between them.
"By the way…thank you... for standing up for me," Seto told her slightly awkwardly. Misty smiled at him.
"You're welcome," she replied and continued to sip on her latte. He sipped on his white chocolate mocha in a companionable silence for a bit, until he broke the silence.
"You know, if you had gotten arrested for beating him, I would've bailed you out and gotten your record clean," he told her. Misty's chocolate eyes widened in surprised.
"Really?"
"Yes," Seto replied genuinely. "He had no right to say that about you, and infer that the only people who would be willing to hang around me are…whores," he said uncomfortably. "The beating was justified albeit, scary."
"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba," Misty replied with a smile.
"Aww, he would've come to rescue you from the police!" her inner self squealed happily.
"You're welcome. Let's go finish our work for the day," he said changing the subject. They got back to Kaiba Corp. and Misty thanked Edward again and walked at Seto's side in sync, and they went back to his office in his private elevator.
"You should ask her out," his inner self encouraged.
"Maybe this weekend…" Seto replied.
"On Valentine's Day?!" his inner self exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, I suppose," Seto replied. His inner self was utterly jubilant.
"It's about damn time! What do you have in mind?"
"Maybe Valentine festivities at Kaiba Land? Or dinner and maybe a movie?" Seto suggested.
"Classic! Ooh! You could do a one of those painting and wine classes too!" his inner self suggested excitedly.
"That could work. I think she'd like that," Seto agreed.
"Great! A dinner and painting class!" his inner self exclaimed. When they got to the office, Seto gave her some instructions for things he wanted done in the meantime until 6:00. Misty nodded and got to work on the tasks, turning on some '50s and '60s music on to work with. It energized her and she worked efficiently. A little while later, Mokuba had come.
"Hey Misty! Hey Seto!" Mokuba greeted and hugged Misty.
"Hey kiddo!" Misty greeted as she hugged him.
"Hey Mokuba," Seto greeted with a smile.
"So, how'd you do today?" Mokuba asked. Misty grinned.
"I finally did it! I finally beat your brother!" Misty beamed.
"Wow! Yay Misty!" Mokuba congratulated her proudly.
"Thanks kiddo," Misty replied and ruffled his black hair.
"Tell him what else happened," Seto prompted.
"What? What else happened?" Mokuba asked curiously.
"Well, Mr. Kaiba and I then went to celebrate and get a drink from the coffee shop. On the way out, we ran into a group of acquaintances of his, Yugi and his friends. Joey disrespected me and Seto by asking him 'Who's this? Your whore?'. After that, I got viciously angry, and demanded an apology. He continued to be an idiot, so I kicked his ass," Misty recanted, giving him the nutshell version.
"Seriously?! He said that to you and Seto?!" Mokuba remarked stunned.
"Clear as crystal. I was not about to tolerate that disrespect," Misty replied.
"I wouldn't either. I bet he'll regret that," Mokuba predicted.
"No doubt. That yapping mutt messed with a rattlesnake and got bit in the process," Misty told him. Mokuba chuckled at her metaphor. Misty smiled.
"How was school?" Misty asked.
"It was alright. We're doing The Canterbury Tales in English this time. We're sorta recreating it and writing our own stories that entertainingly tell a moral and having a contest to who tells the best story while we have snacks in our groups, and the best story in class gets a free 100 for any assignment or quiz," Mokuba explained.
"Oh I did that when I was a senior in high school. That was fun," Misty told him and had a fond smile.
"Oh really? What was your story about?" Mokuba asked curiously.
"I wrote a story where my dad won the lotto and because we were rich, people came out of the woodwork to get close to the money, and then I got kidnapped by bad people who wanted a ransom. I won the group round, but not the class round," Misty recanted.
"What was the lesson?"
"Be careful of people wanting to use you for wealth," Misty answered.
"Yeah, we can really relate to that," Mokuba said soberly.
"I bet. Let me tell you a funny joke to get your mind off that thought. There was a group of kids about 7 years old, and a teacher gave them the assignment of writing a story with a moral, almost similar to what you have to do. One kid told a story about the moral of not counting chickens before they're hatched. Another told one about letting a sleeping dog lie, and so on and so forth. One kid told a story about how his mother, who was a soldier in the war in Afghanistan parachuting down to the ground from a plane, and saw 20 terrorists. On her, she had a glass container of whiskey. She didn't want to lose the whiskey, so she drank it on the way down. She got down and shot 12, stabbed 4, and then used hand to hand combat to defeat the other 4. The teacher was shocked and appalled. 'What was the moral?' she asked the boy. 'Don't mess with mommy when she drinks,' the boy answered without missing a beat. The teacher almost fainted," Misty told him. Seto and Mokuba both laughed.
"That's crazy!" Mokuba exclaimed while laughing. "Where did you hear that?"
"I got it off tickld," Misty told him. Mokuba chuckled. "So, what is your moral going to be?"
"I'm not sure yet," Mokuba admitted.
"It'll come to you," Misty encouraged.
"Yeah," Mokuba agreed.
"I'll help you in a moment," Misty assured him and finished her tasks and then helped him with his homework and helped him come up with a story by telling some of her own as inspiration. Mokuba was fascinated by all the stories she told, and so was Seto. Seto found some amusing, and some shocking. Mokuba decided on a theme- Paying attention is the best thing you can pay for. Misty gave him permission to use a medley of her stories about when she was almost badly hurt or possibly killed because others weren't paying attention, most notably when she was riding her bike home from school when she was 12, and a man wasn't paying attention and he hit her when she was halfway across the street, but at least he stopped. If she hadn't been wearing her helmet, she could've been killed because there was a dent the size of a half-dollar in her helmet, above her temple. There was another story where she was a pedestrian crossing the street at a designated bus stop, with a stop sign, with other employees when she worked at Six Flags, and she almost got ran over by an idiot man with his family in a van because he failed to stop at the stop sign and just kept going. There was another story where an idiot almost ran into her while she was driving to work because said idiot was texting while driving.
"You have a penchant for nearly being in dire situations," Seto observed.
"Yeah… all because idiots can't be bothered to pay attention. I at least do my best to stay sharp," Misty retorted.
"This is great material! Thanks Misty!" Mokuba told her with a hug.
"My pleasure, kiddo. I hope you win," Misty replied as she ruffled his raven hair.
"Me too. I'm also glad you're ok," Mokuba said sincerely and hugged her tighter.
"Me too," Misty agreed.
"Me three," Seto piped up. Misty invited him over to join the hug, and he obliged. They parted after a few minutes and Misty helped Mokuba finish his homework and got back to work on her tasks. At 6:00 precisely, they stopped work for the day, and they took Misty home.
After Misty had thanked Edward and got in her apartment, her inner self couldn't wait to talk to her.
"Today was awesome! You beat Seto at Duel Monsters finally, he got you a drink, he was amazed by your kicking that Joey Wheeler's ass, he sat closer to you in the limo, and he was fascinated by your stories, and a bit concerned too!" her inner self babbled and gushed. "Please tell me you're ready to date him!" she begged.
"Well, if he asks, I probably won't say no at this point," Misty admitted.
"Are you serious?!" her inner self shrieked in ecstatic joy.
"Yes, I guess I don't see the harm at this point. I also think everyone assumes we're a couple anyway, and I guess it could be fun," Misty replied nonchalantly.
"Finally!" her inner self gushed jubilantly and was practically dancing.
"Easy, girl," Misty told her trying to rein her in. Her inner self chuckled sheepishly.
"Sorry, I'm just so excited."
"I gathered," Misty retorted.
"When are you hoping he asks?" her inner self asked with a huge grin.
"Well, it would be nice to have a valentine," Misty admitted.
"Yeah! I hope he asks you out for Valentine's Day! You two are so perfect!"
"I know," Misty retorted and relaxed with dinner, TV, and did some drawings. Her hand had a mind of its own and had an alliance with her brain to draw pictures of her, Seto, and Mokuba together. She sighed. They were sweet pictures, she couldn't deny that. She dropped the pencil and eraser in surrender.
"Alright…" she conceded softly. When she said that, she gasped as there was a wave of relief and joy that washed over her like a tidal wave, making her shudder. It felt sorta nice.
Meanwhile, over dinner back at the mansion, Seto decided to tell Mokuba his plan.
"Mokuba?" Seto began.
"Yes Seto?" Mokuba asked curiously with his head tilted.
"I've decided… I think I want to ask her out…" Seto announced. A Cheshire cat grin slowly cracked and split Mokuba's face and crinkled his grey eyes.
"Seriously?!" he asked excitedly, his grey eyes glittering excitedly. Seto nodded.
"It's about damn time!" Mokuba exclaimed. Seto gave him a bit of a scowl. "I'm just so excited for you Seto! What finally made you decide?" Mokuba asked eagerly, his attention rapt on his brother.
"Well, I noticed she wears the Blue Eyes White Dragon pendant all the time; I like her determination to have kept on dueling me to beat me; all the valentine decorations at the coffee shop and thought it would be nice to have a valentine for once; after she defended herself and me from Wheeler with that ass-kicking; the chemistry is getting stronger; and I found myself concerned about how she almost wasn't here because of idiots not paying attention, I decided I was ready to ask," Seto explained.
"What do you have in mind? When are you going to ask her?" Mokuba asked excitedly.
"I was thinking of asking her on Friday, and for the date, I was thinking dinner and a painting and wine class, for Saturday, Valentine's Day," Seto answered.
"She'll love it!" Mokuba declared and couldn't contain his joy. "I want a full report on Saturday!" he demanded excitedly.
"Oh, I'll tell you all about it," Seto promised. Mokuba squealed a little in delight and was trying to help Seto get prepared for Friday, and made his own plans for Saturday so they could have couple time.
A/N: Thank you for reading ch. 7. I hope you enjoyed it! Just a friendly reminder to leave a review. Reviews= New chapters. There is more fun to be had and the action is rising.
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