Disclaimer: I talked to Satan about that whole "additional soul" thing. And
the owning "Yu-Gi-Oh!" thing. He basically told me no freakin' way.
Author's Note: Many, MANY thanks to EVERYONE who has reviewed, because you guys keep me going. I'll probably start doing individual responses at the ends or beginnings of chapters... when I'm no longer lazy and retarded like I am now... (And I'm sorry this installment took so damn long! *sweatdrop*)
***
Chapter 3
When Kaiba did not immediately go rushing for Yugi and company, Anzu grabbed him by the hand and tugged him in the direction of her friends. "Remember what you promised me," she whispered to him.
"Maza-- Anzu, no matter what mental disabilites Jonouchi may suffer from, the rest of the world is perfectly capable of remembering a promise made little over five minutes ago."
"Then how come you're already breaking it?" Anzu said. They were a little more than halfway to the table now.
"I'm not," Kaiba replied haughtily. "You said I had to be nice TO them, you didn't say anything about how I'm to conduct myself behind their backs."
Anzu sighed. "Fine," she conceded, irritated. She didn't want to waste energy arguing with Kaiba NOW when she might need to waste it arguing with him LATER. Kaiba, for his part, smirked and looked especially smug as he allowed himself to be guided towards Anzu's friends' table.
"Now, remember," she warned him as she sat down, leaving him standing awkwardly beside the table, "be GOOD."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Don't speak to me that way," he hissed. "*I'm* not the dog here." Jonouchi apparently overheard that remark because he raised his eyebrows and glared at Kaiba. Well, glared at Kaiba even more than he usually did, anyway.
Anzu glared too. But, "I'm warning you, Seto...," was all she said.
Yugi, Honda and Jonouchi all looked slightly confused. Honda stared at Anzu as if to ask, 'Since when are you and Kaiba on a first-name basis?'
"Kaiba-kun," Yugi said, attempting a smile, "how are you feeling today?" There were Duel Monsters cards spread randomly around the table, indicating a duel had been in progress at one point, although they didn't seem to be having one now.
Kaiba contemplated all the possibly sarcastic ways he could answer that question, but remembering Anzu's presence, finally settled on, simply, "I'm feeling like I want to sit down." He shot a look in Anzu's direction as he said this; her occupation of the last remaining seat at the table had not gone unnoticed by Kaiba.
Anzu responded to his look with a sweet smile. "Oh? I'm sorry, *Seto-san*... were you trying to say something to me?"
Jonouchi's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, which would've amused Kaiba quite a bit if he hadn't currently been so annoyed.
Kaiba shot her an icy glare. "No, no, I was merely answering Yugi's question, *sweetheart*."
This time it was Yugi's eyes who did the popping as Honda fell out of his chair. Kaiba, never missing an oppurtunity, practically dove into Honda's now-vacant chair as Yugi said, "Kaiba-kun... are you and Anzu...?"
"Sort of," said Anzu at the same time Kaiba said, "Not exactly."
Yugi blinked, Honda (from his position on the ground) raised an eyebrow and Jonouchi said, "What the hell d'ya mean, 'not exactly?' You're either datin' or ya ain't." He was eyeing Kaiba disgustedly, prompting the young millionaire to think, 'Well, it's not as though *I've* got fleas.' And only Anzu prevented him from actually saying it; and not even she could prevent him from returning Jonouchi's glare for all it was worth.
"We're *not* dating," Anzu said, adding quickly, "at least, not really. I'm doing Kaiba-kun a... favor, I guess you could call it--" She blushed, causing Honda and Jonouchi's eyes to widen considerably once more while Yugi just blinked, brows slightly raised.
"Jou... he's not gay... he's porkin' Anzu," Honda said as he stood, willing to forgive Kaiba for taking his seat only because the executive had just won him a bet. "You owe me a cigarette."
"Damn!" Jonouchi swore.
"What... kind... of favor, Anzu?" Yugi asked quietly, a hint of wariness in his voice.
Kaiba put his face in his hands, wishing he could just leave already. But they might drop the entire horrible topic and start dueling, and when they did, he wanted to be around to kick some serious...
"I'mpretendingtobehisgirlfriend," Anzu said in one breath, blush deepening. "So you guys... you have to... you've got to go along with it. Please!"
"Pretending and apparently doing a perfectly hideous job of it," Kaiba snapped, face still in hands. "You're not supposed to go off telling the entire world that you're pretending!" He sighed and he pulled his hands away, trying to keep his facial expression cold.
"I'm telling 'the world!'" Anzu retorted. "I'm only telling my friends. I think they have a right to know!"
Kaiba 'hmmphed' but said nothing else. For a few minutes, anyhow, until he heard Jonouchi and Honda again.
"They're just pretendin'," Jonouchi said. "He is gay. *You* owe *me* the cigarette, pal."
Honda sighed and dug into his pocket as Jonouchi stood collect the cig.
"I'm *not* gay," Kaiba snapped irritably. Both Honda and Jonouchi looked tempted to say something sarcastic, but they just looked at each other and snickered instead. Honda grudgingly pressed the cigarette into Jonouchi's open palm.
The CEO wanted to strangle both of them.
Yugi was smiling at Anzu. "I think that's nice of you," he was saying. Anzu was beaming and Kaiba wasn't sure if he should merely roll his eyes in disgust or leave the table altogether. He opted for the latter until Anzu, who, even though she was still gazing at Yugi, apparently knew what he was up to and took hold of his sleeve to tug him back down (an action of hers that invoked not only Kaiba's irritation but that of Honda as well, who was really looking forward to having his chair once again).
"Where are you going, *Seto*?" she asked, reveling in her new ability to freely use his first name.
"Somewhere where I won't be forced to deal with such lunacy!" he said even as he sat. "If my domineering wife doesn't mind, of course, I'd much prefer *not* to occupy a table where morons are currently taking bets on who I like to sleep with."
Anzu and Yugi exchanged a grin, which didn't surprise Kaiba at all. They turned at him with the same grin, which DID surprise him, if only a little. He wasn't sure if the grin was supposed to be sympathetic or conspiratorial, and he didn't care. He just wanted to leave and couldn't see why that was such a problem. If just pretending to date Anzu meant spending more than five seconds with her friends, Kaiba pitied the man who would actually wind up with her and be forced to socialize for minutes-- hours-- on end with the lot of idiots.
"I don't *mind*. I was just wondering why you changed your mind about wanting to duel Yugi."
Damn. Kaiba froze for a second before saying, "I can't duel. I don't have my deck with me," and started to stand again, adding quickly, "And I *refuse* to borrow the mutt's!"
Jonouchi yelped indignantly and said something along the lines of, "Hey, I don't want Moneybags' grubby hands on my cards anyway!"
Honda dove into his seat again just as Anzu pulled Kaiba back down once more.
Honda was not happy to have Kaiba seated in his lap. Blushing slightly, he shouted, "OFF! GET OFF!" and gave the CEO a hard shove.
Kaiba, who had looked quite preturbed to be seated in another male's lap, looked even more preturbed to be landing on his bum with a soft 'thump.'
The young businessman could feel the cafeteria's eyes on him as, seething inwardly, he stood and began to brush himself off. His glare went first to Honda but then moved to rest on Anzu. "I don't know why you thought that would be funny, *Anzu*," he said in a low hiss, "but it wasn't. I'm not dating you to make myself look like even more of a flaming queer, you know!"
With that, he grabbed his briefcase and his things, turning sharply on his heel, headed for their next class. The bell was going to ring in a few minutes, anyhow, and he didn't think he could stay in the lunchroom any longer.
Anzu couldn't help but feel vaguely guilty, despite her amusement at the situation. She hadn't mean to do that... it was nothing more than sheer bad timing...
Well, at least she knew exactly how to make the situation up to Kaiba-- despite that, until that day, she'd never anticipated having to make anything up to *Kaiba*, of all people.
Author's Note: Many, MANY thanks to EVERYONE who has reviewed, because you guys keep me going. I'll probably start doing individual responses at the ends or beginnings of chapters... when I'm no longer lazy and retarded like I am now... (And I'm sorry this installment took so damn long! *sweatdrop*)
***
Chapter 3
When Kaiba did not immediately go rushing for Yugi and company, Anzu grabbed him by the hand and tugged him in the direction of her friends. "Remember what you promised me," she whispered to him.
"Maza-- Anzu, no matter what mental disabilites Jonouchi may suffer from, the rest of the world is perfectly capable of remembering a promise made little over five minutes ago."
"Then how come you're already breaking it?" Anzu said. They were a little more than halfway to the table now.
"I'm not," Kaiba replied haughtily. "You said I had to be nice TO them, you didn't say anything about how I'm to conduct myself behind their backs."
Anzu sighed. "Fine," she conceded, irritated. She didn't want to waste energy arguing with Kaiba NOW when she might need to waste it arguing with him LATER. Kaiba, for his part, smirked and looked especially smug as he allowed himself to be guided towards Anzu's friends' table.
"Now, remember," she warned him as she sat down, leaving him standing awkwardly beside the table, "be GOOD."
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Don't speak to me that way," he hissed. "*I'm* not the dog here." Jonouchi apparently overheard that remark because he raised his eyebrows and glared at Kaiba. Well, glared at Kaiba even more than he usually did, anyway.
Anzu glared too. But, "I'm warning you, Seto...," was all she said.
Yugi, Honda and Jonouchi all looked slightly confused. Honda stared at Anzu as if to ask, 'Since when are you and Kaiba on a first-name basis?'
"Kaiba-kun," Yugi said, attempting a smile, "how are you feeling today?" There were Duel Monsters cards spread randomly around the table, indicating a duel had been in progress at one point, although they didn't seem to be having one now.
Kaiba contemplated all the possibly sarcastic ways he could answer that question, but remembering Anzu's presence, finally settled on, simply, "I'm feeling like I want to sit down." He shot a look in Anzu's direction as he said this; her occupation of the last remaining seat at the table had not gone unnoticed by Kaiba.
Anzu responded to his look with a sweet smile. "Oh? I'm sorry, *Seto-san*... were you trying to say something to me?"
Jonouchi's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, which would've amused Kaiba quite a bit if he hadn't currently been so annoyed.
Kaiba shot her an icy glare. "No, no, I was merely answering Yugi's question, *sweetheart*."
This time it was Yugi's eyes who did the popping as Honda fell out of his chair. Kaiba, never missing an oppurtunity, practically dove into Honda's now-vacant chair as Yugi said, "Kaiba-kun... are you and Anzu...?"
"Sort of," said Anzu at the same time Kaiba said, "Not exactly."
Yugi blinked, Honda (from his position on the ground) raised an eyebrow and Jonouchi said, "What the hell d'ya mean, 'not exactly?' You're either datin' or ya ain't." He was eyeing Kaiba disgustedly, prompting the young millionaire to think, 'Well, it's not as though *I've* got fleas.' And only Anzu prevented him from actually saying it; and not even she could prevent him from returning Jonouchi's glare for all it was worth.
"We're *not* dating," Anzu said, adding quickly, "at least, not really. I'm doing Kaiba-kun a... favor, I guess you could call it--" She blushed, causing Honda and Jonouchi's eyes to widen considerably once more while Yugi just blinked, brows slightly raised.
"Jou... he's not gay... he's porkin' Anzu," Honda said as he stood, willing to forgive Kaiba for taking his seat only because the executive had just won him a bet. "You owe me a cigarette."
"Damn!" Jonouchi swore.
"What... kind... of favor, Anzu?" Yugi asked quietly, a hint of wariness in his voice.
Kaiba put his face in his hands, wishing he could just leave already. But they might drop the entire horrible topic and start dueling, and when they did, he wanted to be around to kick some serious...
"I'mpretendingtobehisgirlfriend," Anzu said in one breath, blush deepening. "So you guys... you have to... you've got to go along with it. Please!"
"Pretending and apparently doing a perfectly hideous job of it," Kaiba snapped, face still in hands. "You're not supposed to go off telling the entire world that you're pretending!" He sighed and he pulled his hands away, trying to keep his facial expression cold.
"I'm telling 'the world!'" Anzu retorted. "I'm only telling my friends. I think they have a right to know!"
Kaiba 'hmmphed' but said nothing else. For a few minutes, anyhow, until he heard Jonouchi and Honda again.
"They're just pretendin'," Jonouchi said. "He is gay. *You* owe *me* the cigarette, pal."
Honda sighed and dug into his pocket as Jonouchi stood collect the cig.
"I'm *not* gay," Kaiba snapped irritably. Both Honda and Jonouchi looked tempted to say something sarcastic, but they just looked at each other and snickered instead. Honda grudgingly pressed the cigarette into Jonouchi's open palm.
The CEO wanted to strangle both of them.
Yugi was smiling at Anzu. "I think that's nice of you," he was saying. Anzu was beaming and Kaiba wasn't sure if he should merely roll his eyes in disgust or leave the table altogether. He opted for the latter until Anzu, who, even though she was still gazing at Yugi, apparently knew what he was up to and took hold of his sleeve to tug him back down (an action of hers that invoked not only Kaiba's irritation but that of Honda as well, who was really looking forward to having his chair once again).
"Where are you going, *Seto*?" she asked, reveling in her new ability to freely use his first name.
"Somewhere where I won't be forced to deal with such lunacy!" he said even as he sat. "If my domineering wife doesn't mind, of course, I'd much prefer *not* to occupy a table where morons are currently taking bets on who I like to sleep with."
Anzu and Yugi exchanged a grin, which didn't surprise Kaiba at all. They turned at him with the same grin, which DID surprise him, if only a little. He wasn't sure if the grin was supposed to be sympathetic or conspiratorial, and he didn't care. He just wanted to leave and couldn't see why that was such a problem. If just pretending to date Anzu meant spending more than five seconds with her friends, Kaiba pitied the man who would actually wind up with her and be forced to socialize for minutes-- hours-- on end with the lot of idiots.
"I don't *mind*. I was just wondering why you changed your mind about wanting to duel Yugi."
Damn. Kaiba froze for a second before saying, "I can't duel. I don't have my deck with me," and started to stand again, adding quickly, "And I *refuse* to borrow the mutt's!"
Jonouchi yelped indignantly and said something along the lines of, "Hey, I don't want Moneybags' grubby hands on my cards anyway!"
Honda dove into his seat again just as Anzu pulled Kaiba back down once more.
Honda was not happy to have Kaiba seated in his lap. Blushing slightly, he shouted, "OFF! GET OFF!" and gave the CEO a hard shove.
Kaiba, who had looked quite preturbed to be seated in another male's lap, looked even more preturbed to be landing on his bum with a soft 'thump.'
The young businessman could feel the cafeteria's eyes on him as, seething inwardly, he stood and began to brush himself off. His glare went first to Honda but then moved to rest on Anzu. "I don't know why you thought that would be funny, *Anzu*," he said in a low hiss, "but it wasn't. I'm not dating you to make myself look like even more of a flaming queer, you know!"
With that, he grabbed his briefcase and his things, turning sharply on his heel, headed for their next class. The bell was going to ring in a few minutes, anyhow, and he didn't think he could stay in the lunchroom any longer.
Anzu couldn't help but feel vaguely guilty, despite her amusement at the situation. She hadn't mean to do that... it was nothing more than sheer bad timing...
Well, at least she knew exactly how to make the situation up to Kaiba-- despite that, until that day, she'd never anticipated having to make anything up to *Kaiba*, of all people.