Rowan: Sorry for the loong delay! But I had to get someone to dedicate this chapter to! And I do! Congrats to Kurayami Ryuu for correctly guessing that the e-mail address is Yami's!

Sakura: Yes, good job! Wow Rowan, 75 reviews for this story! Who'd have thought?

Kyrene (Once Blood Roses: Could be…could be…you'll just have to read and found out!

Scarlett and Scar: You can guess if you want to! Others have, so there'll be no harm done!

Assassin of the Shadows: Oh no, they're not playing with Jou's emotions…yet…

Katy: Glad to hear!

ColeyCarissa: Oh, thank goodness you were just kidding! I would be absolutely devastated if you hated the story! And not to worry, I plan on making Jou and Seto end up together! I despise (fill in YGO char. Name)* OC stories, so…Seto and Jou 4-ever!

Beady: Good guess…Sorry for the delay!

The Chaotic Ones: I am honored to be that one in seven author!

MyOwnShukuun: Jou got stuck on Cloud 9 awhile ago…but then he flouted higher and higher…he says Cloud 9 is very nice, but that he thinks Cloud 1793 is much lovelier! I'm glad you like the 'Shihara -Seto thingy'. The e-mail isn't Ryou's, but good guess!

Honey-musturd: Not to worry, I wouldn't have dreamed of making you that waitress! No, I had plans for you girl! And thanks for the suggestion! I hope this chapter is more descriptive; if it isn't, feel free to let me know!

Ranma Higurashi: Yes, Jou has gone crazy!

Kurayami Ryuu: I've done that too…staying up to read a story all the way through! I'm really delighted that you think this is one of the best ficcys you've read, I'm flattered by the success of this story! Oh, and good wild guess! You were right!

Disclaimer: When Seto and Jou are 'friendly', as they are in my dreams, you will know that I finally have found my distant relative that also links to Mr. Takahashi and proceeded to eliminate all those between us. Hey, it's possible!

Life's Little Treasures

Clueless

---

Anzu sat in Seto's extensive library, which looked like it belonged in a school more than the mansion. It was filled with shelves stocked with books of all genres, and included its own set of computers, one of which Anzu was utilizing at that very moment.

Dancingqueen writes: Mai, I'm not liking this plan! It'll only make Jou jealous, and the idea is to get Seto to confess his love!

Anzu tapped her fingers impatiently as she send the AIM. 'C'mon Mai, I know you're on! It says so on the screen!'

A couple seconds later, a bright purple popped up under Anzu's no-nonsense black.

Goddessofbeauty writes: A little jealousy never hurt anybody! And Jou could use some! Besides, where's the harm, if the plan works, right?

Anzu rolled her eyes as she typed her reply and angrily hit Enter, sending her message.

Dancingqueen writes: And what if it doesn't work? What then?

This time, the response came back in purple highlight.

Goddessofbeauty writes: Every good plan has a back-up plan.

Dancingqueen writes: And what is this back-up plan?

The next reply came back with flashing lights all around it.

Goddessofbeauty writes: Hopefully you'll never have to know.

Anzu sighed in defeat.

Dancingqueen writes: What do I do in the meantime?

The final response came back…plain as day.

Goddessofbeauty writes: Shop?

'Isn't that what Shihara and Seto are doing?'

~*~&~*~

Shihara flipped her long black hair over her shoulder and smiled up at Seto as they traversed the crowded corridor of the mall. "Thanks for helping me shop for Anzu, Ryou, and the others. I would never have known what to get for Yami, Jou or you! And it's so nice of you to let a complete stranger stay at your house."

Seto shrugged. "Well, if what you said last night is true, then you're not a complete stranger."

Shihara nodded in agreement. "True…true…but still, we've never met face-to-face." They walked in silence for a few moments, when Shihara stopped. "Say, Seto why don't we stop for lunch? This looks like a nice restaurant."

Seto glanced to the diner on their right and replied, "Sure, why not."

They made their way through the crowd towards the restaurant and got a booth in no time. The waitress came sauntering up to the two and did a double take, for it was the same woman who had served Jou and Mokuba the day before. But the girl got over her shock quickly and smirked. "What happened to your boyfriend, eh?" she asked cheekily.

Seto glared up at the waitress. Shihara gazed on the scene in confusion then decided to play along with whatever had obviously transpired between Seto and this woman to make her believe that he was gay. "Oh, his boyfriend? Heh heh, yes, that's my brother! I had to check out the guy who stole my brother's heart of course!"

The waitress huffed stiffly and said, " Can I take your orders?"

Seto and Shihara gave the lady their orders and the girl left quickly. Shihara placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her folded hands, leaning across the table and looking straight at Seto. "So, what was that about?"

Seto shrugged. "Oh, yesterday Jou and Mokuba were out shopping and I found them in this restaurant, that waitress completely throwing herself at Jou. He looked rather uncomfortable, so I said that I was his boyfriend."

Shihara nodded in understanding. "Oh, so does that mean you're ,um, you know…gay?"

"I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth."

"Well, what do you think about…me, for instance?" Shihara inquired.

Seto cocked his head to the side in thought, a very un-Seto like habit. In fact, that gesture was often more affiliated to a certain blonde boy than to the CEO of KaibaCorp. "You're very pretty Shihara, but…"

Shihara nodded. "I know, I know. All right, so maybe I wasn't all that great of an example. How about Jounouchi? What do you think of him?"

Seto half smiled. "That mutt. He's got all the mannerisms of a playful little puppy. His head goes up at any mention of food, he's fiercely loyal to his friends, he can't resist a challenge, especially when the odds are against him, and his eyes are the color of a golden labrador."

Shihara sighed. "All right, well, you established that you like to compare Jou to a dog, but what do you think of him?"

Seto's brow wrinkled in concentration. "He's okay I guess."

Shihara exhaled loudly in frustration. 'This is gonna be harder than I thought.'

~*~&~*~

Mokuba padded down the hallway and pounded noisily on Jou's bedroom door. "Jou! Jou, I know you're in there! Open the door, Now!"

Jou pulled the door open swiftly. "Jeez, what are you trying to do, make a dent in the door?"

"We need to talk," Mokuba stated, dragging Jou back into his room and depositing him on the bed. "I thought you were going to tell Seto how you feel about him!"

"Heh, heh, opps?" Jou replied, cringing from the younger Kaiba.

"Opps! Opps?! Jou, if you don't tell Seto how you feel, how will he ever know? What, do you think he's telepathic or something? Reality check! If you ever want to know his true feelings for you, you'll have to be open with him!"

"When'd you become the love doctor?" Jou asked, sullen. He pushed off the bed and looked down on Mokuba. "I'm eighteen years old Mokuba. I'll tell Seto when I want to, not when you say I should. Now please leave, I have some wrapping to do."

Mokuba walked over to the door and looked back at Jou once more. "What are you afraid of Jou?"

Jou's shoulders slumped. "Nothing. Nothing but the fears of an unrequited love."

~*~&~*~

Shihara had not brought up the subject of Seto's preferences for the rest of the day, but she knew as they sat in the limo that she had to approach the subject soon. "So…what do you think of dogs? What's your favorite breed?"

"Uh…gold retrievers are kinda cute…" Seto responded.

Shihara smirked to herself. 'Ah, I think we're getting somewhere.' "Why them?"

"I don't know…I guess because they remind me of someone…if only I knew who."

"What do you like about them? Anything specific?"

Seto smiled. "They're fiercely loyal to their masters, they're very playful and have really beautiful gold fur."

Shihara chuckled. "Sounds like Jounouchi!" she exclaimed.

Seto nodded. "Yeah, they are!"

"So, do you think of Jou that way? Best of breed?"

"Nani! What do you mean? As a friend, he sure is a good one. Is that what you mean?"

Shihara buried her head in her hands. 'Damn, damn, damn! This guy is clueless!'

~*~&~*~&~*~

Rowan: I planned on more, but that would've meant a longer delay. Anyway, please tell me what you thought of this chapter!