This chapter is dedicated to the lost of With the French Maid in Kaiba's Room.

A piece of work which will come only once in a lifetime. Maybe two, if we are reincarnated…

CHAPTER 3: Close Encounters

"Kaiba-kun?" Shizuka managed to mumble. The man was tall and he defiantly resembled him. As dark shadow that cast upon her more and more, she took several steps back. "Wha-what are you doing here?" As soon as he entered through, Shizuka can clearly see the surgeon's mask over his face. "And what is that?"

"I'm not here to play games," Seto scolded through his mask, "Shizuko, why are you--dressed... like that?" Kaiba eyed Shizuka's so-called pajamas. In his mind, he thought, 'As a male, who in their right minds would wear ice dream themed pajamas and pigtails? If this guy doesn't get over his ex-girlfriend, in this rate, he'll turn into a fagg.' He walked passed Shizuka and took a quick glance around. 'Small apartment, typical.' He thought, knowing that his own employee would live with Jounouchi and his sister.

"A--a--ano um I--I was...dared--hai, dared by Shizuka, Jounouchi's sister." Shizuka mentally pat herself in the back.

"So, where is the little whore?" Kaiba spoke still looking at her apartment.

"Eh?" Shizuka questioned, "I--she isn't a--a--you know," Shizuka refrained herself from calling herself one.

"If she's related to that loser, she might as well be. Now, where are they? I bet he's off with that slut--"

"--Mai's not a slut!!" Shizuka exclaimed. Aggravated of her loud mouth, Seto replied handed a folder to Shizuka, "This is the paperwork you left behind. You were supposed to be familiar with it before the meeting."

Shizuka cringed hearing his scolding for the second time today, "Arigatou. If you don't mind me asking," Seto raised a brow, "Why are you here? I--I mean, not to sound mean or anything, but I'm sure you could have gotten Jin-kun or Kaito to come in your place."

"I wanted to insult the living daylights out of your girlfriend and her brother's way of living. But it seems that one of the two isn't here. Now I want a damn answer, where is that girlfriend of yours?"

"A--ano-- she's out getting dinner...?" Shizuka mumbled. She kept sweating more and more as Seto kept interrogating her. He wanted to know every little thing that happened with the past twelve hours she had last seen him.

Knock, knock

"Ha-ha, that must be Shizuka now, excuse me," Shizuka bowed-down and ran to the door. She opened a small part to see the delivery man for that pizza she ordered. "Here, just take it--" Shizuka shoved her money onto the delivery man's palm.

"De--demo, you have--" Shizuka grabbed the pizza box and slammed the door behind her. She sighed out of relief and looked up to see Seto examining the pictures of herself and Jounouchi.

"Was that Shizuka by any chance?" Seto commented without looking at her.

Shizuka stractched the back of her head and laughed, "Why would you think that? Heh, heh,"

"You have dinner on your hands."

"Oh," Shizuka replied seeing the box, "Well, um, she said that... I should start eating while she would go out to get some milk and bread."

Seto's eyes narrowed and then suddenly turned cold when his eyes touched Shizuka's stare. "If that's the case, I might as well leave now..."

"De-demo--" Shizuka's voice traveled trying to convince her boss to at least accompany her to dinner, "I--we have enough for one more." Shizuka blushed. 'Maybe this would give a chance for Kaiba and I to at least get along.' Like she ever would convince him so easily...

"I'll deal with you tomorrow" were the only words she heard before Seto slammed the door. A loose strand of Shizuka's hair fell out of place as her body shivered out of the fear of the worst. Her face turned to look at the pizza she was going to eat for dinner, then the braids Mai did for her.

Raising one of them to her eye level, "I was dared, huh?" she asked herself sarcastically. Shizuka quickly released her braid and plopped down onto the furniture. She silently smiled and opened the box of pizza she had waited for. Her smile quickly disappeared when she realized the contents of the pizza in the box, "After all the stress everyone puts me through, he could have at least ordered the right toppings." She sighed referring to her brother.

The next day, Mai had invited Shizuka for a get-together in a café after her classes. Things were going well before Mai had mentioned Shizuka's progress in her job.

Mai's laughing voice echoed throughout the café. Shizuka's back sank deeper and deeper into her seat as Mai continued. Shizuka used her hands to block the view of the crowd that soon gathered. After some time, Mai stopped, and then resumed seeing Shizuka's embarrassment.

"You're supposed to be my friend, remember? The type of friend that doesn't laugh at the stupid things, that happens in my life, unless I laugh along." Shizuka whispered with her hands still coving her hands.

"Gomen nasai," Mai tried to catch her breath. Shizuka still eyed her. Mai caught this and coughed and corrected her posture. But she gave in as soon as she spotted the hair pins holding the wig onto her scalp.

"MAI!!"

"Gomen, gomen..." Mai giggled, "Okay, okay, tell me how, again, did you get into the mood you are in now?"

"You're not going to laugh at me again, are you?" Shizuka lifted her eye brow. Mai shook her head in response. "Fine," Shizuka sighed, "I woke up late today. It was all because of the stock records I had to memorize for work. But that's another story. Anyway, I was late for class and I only had ten minutes of it. When class was over, I waited until everyone left so I can talk to the professor --"

"Gomen nasai, what class is this again?" Mai cut it.

"English."

"You're taking English?" Shizuka rolled her eyes from disbelief. Her disbelief was the fact that this girl can easily change subjects. Shizuka crossed her arms on top of the table and softly placed her head on top, "I forgot how to speak some of those words since high school. Let alone the verb tenses--"

"Mai," Shizuka muffled through her arms, "I don't have to finish, if you don't want me to..."

"Heh? Ooh! Gomen nasai, I--I didn't mean…" Shizuka raised her head swiftly and continued.

"Anyway, my professor told me that I seem to be so caught up with my work that I don't realize that I'm not doing well. I mean, how can he say that? I've only been working for Kaiba Corporation for only three days. So now, I have to write a research paper, in English of course, about how stress can effect our work, and—and life—and sleep. It's almost pointless, right?"

Mai sat across from Shizuka silently without a movement. "I shall repeat, it's pointless , right?"

"This does explain your crankiness."

"Me? Cranky?" Shizuka asked in doubt, "I'm not cranky. People classify me as a person always calm and collected."

"--Until you worked for Kaiba. Admit it, Shizuka, this guy is driving you crazy! I've never seen you this stressed out because of work."

Shizuka's eyes narrowed, "This was my first job, Mai, ever! And the thing is I'm used to this kind of pressure. I'm okay with it. But the fact is I'm pretending to be a guy. I can't get work done, if I'm being a guy. I even get mixed up trying to keep the male article and female article of I confused. It's stupid, Mai. It is that stupid."

"…it sucks to be you, doesn't it?" Mai snickered. Shizuka rolled her eyes once more, crossed her arms and rested her head on the table, "Shizuka…" Mai sighed wrapping one arm around Shizuka's shoulders and the other stroking her hair, "I'm just poking some fun. Don't worry; I understand what you are going through. Well, not necessarily, I haven't done any type of crossdressing-- but the point is you don't have to handle it all by yourself. You told me how you feel about your situation. You got it all off your chest. You are calming down. Is there anything I missed?"

"You forgot to mention the part about working for the scariest person alive." Shizuka muffled.

Mai chuckled and kissed the top of Shizuka's head, and continued to stroke her hair, "You'll do fine, kid. You'll do fine. You know, if it all goes wrong," Mai sighed, "You can always quit."

Shizuka took that comment into deep consideration.

After that fine hour with Mai, Shizuka ended up walking around the streets of Domino, browsing every window that she passed. She stopped in front of a clothing store. Shizuka glanced at the plastic mannequin showing off their style and figure. They were almost able to define a feminine woman. Their appearance had poise, confidence, and an expression that were almost perfect. 'It's so beautiful…' Shizuka sighed to herself. But her eyes traveled down to see her own reflection. She saw the outfit she was wearing and the messenger bag where her business clothes were neatly folded. But what made her frown was her face. Is this really the face of Shizuka Kawai? Or… just someone pretending to be?

"That's a cheesy line…" Shizuka sweatdropped herself.

"Please, do tell. I willing to bet that line was worthy to some lost, unfortunate soul somewhere in this world." Otogi smirked seeing's Shizuka's antics in another unfortunate time.

"Otogi-kun! I--I--what--?"

"Are you done?" Otogi smiled. Shizuka blushed a little bit, feeling his smile melting a little piece in her heart. Otogi smiled even wider seeing the tint of red flush upon her face. "Is there a reason why you are out here?" Otogi's eyes moved towards the window where Shizuka was eyeing. "Come on!" Otogi grabbed the girl's hand and brought her inside the store.

Inside, there was already a sales woman ready to help the two. "Konnichiwa. Hajimemashite? How do you do?

"Ogenkidesu. Fine My friend was outside looking into this store. I'm guessing she wants something from here."

Shizuka's eyes shot wide open, "Eh? Otogi-kun! Iie! There's nothing--"

"This way, miss…" The sales woman directed Shizuka who was reluctantly following because of Otogi's push.

"Otogi-kun! I didn't want anything from this store!" Shizuka whispered, "I don't think these clothes even look good on me!"

"Hmm… you're right. These clothes are really not attractive compared to you." Otogi smirked.

"I'm serious! I don't want anything." Shizuka accidentally said out loud causing the sales woman to sop dead on her tracks. Shizuka inhaled and exhaled deeply, "Ah! Wha-what I meant to say was--um--I--"

"What she means to say is I'm serious I need accessories." Otogi chuckled in a fake manner. "Ne, Shizuka-chan?" He faced his darling friend and smiled. Shizuka's face glowed a little while witnessing Otogi's warm kindness, once again. All Shizuka did now was making meaningless stutters. Otogi chuckled once more and said, "She agreed."

The sales woman giggled, "Okay, this way, if you will." She finished leading the two towards the opposite direction. Otogi and Shizuka fellowed the woman, yet still silently arguing between themselves. The sales woman would occasionally turn around to make sure that Otogi and Shizuka following. And everytime, Otogi and Shizuka would stop and just smile happily as if there was nothing going on.

"Here they are." The sale woman smiled, "The cashier is over there, and if there's any help needed, I'm always available."

"Arigatou." Both Otogi and Shizuka replied before they turned around to see a large wall full of accessories. From earrings to necklaces, to burettes and broaches, the wall seemed to be complete. Shizuka stood there in awe. Even though she wasn't the type to possess a lot of these things, she knew that these accessories were some of the best she came upon.

"Pick one," Otogi spoke. Shizuka turned to Otogi with a questionable look. For that moment in time, Shizuka stood there not knowing what to say in return, "Come again?"

"Pick one," Otogi said once more, "I want you to pick one of these and keep it. It's my treat." Shizuka was about to protest but Otogi gently placed his index finger on top of her upper lip. "Don't argue with someone who is paying for you. It's an unattractive thing to do."

Shizuka blushed when Otogi mentioned the phrase "It's an unattractive thing to do".

The sales woman, from before, stood along side with her employee admiring the two. "Isn't that sweet? He's offering to buy something for her. I wish my boyfriend that treats me the same way. The girl was lucky to have a boy friend like him."

"I know. My boyfriend and I have been dating for three years. He does not buy me gifts any more. He assumes that being with him is a better."

"She is very lucky." The saleswoman said, while watching Shizuka smile, "very lucky."

"I'll take this one." Shizuka reached over to get a necklace.

"It suits you," he smiled.

Shizuka walked down the street with a almost saddened face. She was very grateful for Otogi's kindness. However, she didn't realize that there was a price to pay.

After they had stepped out of the store, Otogi asked something of Shizuka, "Can you be mine?" She had hoped that he wouldn't ask her that question, not then, not now.

'Snap out of it!' Shizuka mentally shook her head. 'This is not the time, nor the place for that matter.'

She took the accessory from the bag and gazed upon it. It was plain, nothing special. It was a blue chocker-like necklace. In the middle of the necklace lays a clay material rose. It was steady, but soft like the clay was still not dry. There was a reason why she chose this necklace compared to anything else. It reminded Shizuka of herself. It was a small, simple beauty, like any other. It was strong enough to stand but so vulnerable to anyone.

"Oww!" Shizuka exclaimed after a sudden impact had crashed into her rear end. She suddenly forgot her pain when she realized that the necklace was gone. She stared at her empty hand and frantically searched for the item on the street.

A hand was extended to her. Shizuka raised her eyes to the man she thought was the most unlikely man to run into, Kaiba Seto. "Arigatou," Shizuka mumbled quietly. Her eyes still roamed around still looking for that necklace.

"Is this what you are looking for?" Seto smirked, raising the necklace. Shizuka's eyes gleamed seeing the missing necklace dangle onto his fingers.

"Hai," Shizuka smiled, "Ari--" Seto, in a playful mood, raised his arm higher preventing Shizuka from grabbing the necklace. Shizuka groaned out of annoyance as Seto continued to move his arm. He would often chuckle seeing the small Shizuka Kawai struggle.

"Is this yours, my dear?" Seto smirked.

Shizuka grunted, "Hai, I would be deeply appreciated if you would give that back to me." Shizuka commented, trying so hard to not to make a fool of herself.

"Hmmm…." Seto thought aloud, and then said, "Nope!"

Shizuka's jaw dropped. 'What the hell is he thinking?' Shizuka thought, 'Is this guy crazy? I think all the coffee, he usually drinks in the morning is starting to seep into his brain. That would explain the reason why he was bad-mouthing the other day.'

"Instead of giving you this item to you so freely," With a swift motion, Seto's hand swung the necklace into his complete grasp and dug it into his pocket, "I propose you to have some coffee with me."

Silence.

Shizuka stared at the CEO blankly before responding, "Come again?"

One thing about Seto Kaiba we all should know, he doesn't like repeat himself. Seto silently grunted, before facing Shizuka. He tried to make a calm smile and said, "Join me in a cup of coffee." With that said, he quickly turned around and walked toward the nearest café, asking himself, 'How did I get myself into this again?'

Shizuka stood in the same spot. She tried to analyze whether she would leave or follow. The necklace wasn't important. However, Otogi did buy it for her. And being the kind person she is she would treasure it. Seto only wants to have coffee. There's no harm in having coffee. Besides, Jounouchi isn't here.

'I guess I'm going…'

Shizuka sat in a comfortable chair, yet ironically felt uncomfortable. It couldn't have been the warm, steamy, rich French vanilla coffee that lies before her. Or even the slice of chocolate cake she would normally desired. It might the fact that Seto Kaiba, the most powerful man in Japan, sat across from her watching her every move. Yeah, that might be it. Shizuka could help but blush because of the attention she got from him.

"You do like the cake, don't you?" Seto raised his eye brow.

"Oh yes!" Shizuka replied promptly, "It--It's so delicious!"

Seto questioned, "How can you say that if you haven't eaten a crumb of it?"

Shizuka felt an anime sweatdrop. "Oh, right."

Seto leaned his elbows on the table they shared and folded his fingers, allowing his chin to rest upon them. "You're uncomfortable around me, am I right?" Shizuka was about to contradict before he continued, "There's no point in denying it. I never thought you would be the silent type, like your brother--"

"--Onii-chan?"

"Hai, Jounouchi." He spat, "That man couldn't have been more of an animal. But you," Seto stared deeply into Shizuka's eyes, "For some reason, I knew you were different."

Shizuka blushed, "I--I--uh…"

"For some reason, you're unlike any one that I have ever met. I remember that you were outgoing and sociable. But now I don't see those traits anymore. You seem somewhat…" Seto paused, "Scared…"

"ME?!" Shizuka choked on the sip of her coffee. Seto chuckled to himself after seeing this, "Ahem, me? Why--why would I seem scared?"

"First sign: you're not looking at me when you speak. Second sign: you're stuttering," Kaiba reached for his cup of coffee. For that moment, Shizuka gaze at Seto's cold, ice blue eyes. The dept of his eyes seemed endless. If she was willing to stare, Shizuka would be lost in his eyes. He made a smirk before saying, "Third sign: You seem lost." Shizuka shook her head and tried to avoid his gaze. But the present smirk that lay on his face was irresistible.

"Tell me," Shizuka managed to say, "Why did you invite me for coffee? I--I mean, I--I do appreciate it! I just wonder why. I haven't seen you since we were teenagers. I'm just curious why you are…so calm around me."

"I'm used to the reactions you have now." Seto sighed, "My brother and I are like that most of the time. Usually, I would have business meetings that would last forever. So in the end I miss a lot of things of my brother's life. I remember when he was just a kid, just barely trying to understanding the world around him. After I blinked my eyes, he's now a kid barely getting into school." Shizuka giggled.

'This is Kaiba? He's the one who loves to embarrass my brother and his friends? I know he is, but there's something different about him now. Maybe,' Shizuka thought, 'Maybe he changed…'

"You should appreciate what you have," Seto commented. He stood up and advanced his steps until he was behind Shizuka.

"You'll never know when someone will ask you to be his." His hand reached into the pocket where her necklace stayed. He took it and wrapped it around her neck. Shizuka blushed feeling his now warm hands. After he made the lock, he bent down to her ear and whispered, "Don't take this off. It suits you." With a light wind Shizuka froze still.

Her hand softly touched the rose of her necklace. Remembering those words, especially from Seto, made her think, 'Maybe he did change…'

Still in her daze, a waitress walked to Shizuka. She called for her several times until Shizuka snapped out of it, "Miss, are you done?" Shizkua nodded and picked up her stuff and got ready to leave. "Oi!" The waitress exclaimed, "You and your lover didn't pay the bill."

Shizuka laughed, "He's not my love-- matte wait. He didn't pay the bill?" Shizuka froze seeing the waitress shook her head. 'Maybe not…'

Shizuka walked into the school grounds with a smile on her face. She wore navy blue 2-in-1 thermal shirt under a zip-up hoodie and broken worn jeans. She tired her shortened hair back in a low ponytail and around her neck was that necklace. Behind her back was the black backpack that contained her "meeting" clothes. She knew that no one who knew her would see her. She stretched her arms out and yelled, "Today, my fellow classmates, is the day!!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Shizuka pushed that comment aside. Today was indeed her day. She was ready for her class. Her paper was already handed in. And she was no longer scared to face Kaiba. 'There's nothing that can hold me down!' She continued to walk to the building where she was due. "Shizuko-kun!"

'Nani?' Shizuka paused. She turned to see the lovely Anzu trailing right behind her. 'Anzu? What is she doing here?'

"Ah, Anzu-san," Shizuka smiled. "Konnichiwa, daijoubou Hello, how are you?"

Anzu stood before Shizuka in a mini rayon-drawstring skirt. As a top, she wore a cami under a long sleeve sheer knit hoody. Anzu finally caught up with her breath, "Shizuko-kun, I would like to talk to you."

"Now?!" Shizuka raised her eyebrows, "Uhh-- I-- I have to go to class. Um, can we meet later?"

"Later? Hai! We can meet here, next to the big tree." Anzu pointed.

"Okay, cool." Shizuka tore a piece of paper from the notebook that she had. She wrote a collection of numbers on it and said, "This is my cell. If there's any problem, just call, okay? Ja ne!" Shizuka waved and ran down street to the building where her class was.

Anzu watched Shizuko ran to the next street. Watching him gave a little warm feeling she had received from him before. Anzu pulled her hair back behind her hair to look at the number. 'Shizuko…' Anzu thought as she held the piece of paper tight.

"I'm starting to hate this class." One student sighed. After the bell rang, most of the students of Narumi-sensei groaned about how much they hated the course. 1

"Collect you papers before you leave." Narumi-sensei exclaimed walking over to his briefcase. One by one, the students received their gift. One out of ten students were about to dance about their grades. The others were just plan on burning them That's what my classmates and I say after getting terrible grades. However, Shizuka was confident that she wasn't one of them.

The last to receive, Shizuka took her hand out to receive the paper. Fore some reason, Narumi's brown eyes hated seeing this type of confidence. "You could've done better," Narumi replied.

Unsure of the meaning, Shizuka shifted her eyes to the paper to see the corrections and a score written within a red circle. "Narumi-sensei, is--is this my grade?"

"Of course it is. It is in red ink, isn't it?" Narumi snapped at Shizuka; before closing the briefcase and heading out the door. Shizuka was still stuttering and didn't realize her teacher had already left.

"Narumi-sensei!!" Shizuka yelled throughout the halls, trying to catch up with the teacher. Narumi just ignored her cries and continued to walk towards the building containing his office.

He opened the door to his office where Shizuka followed. "What do you want, Shizuka-san? A new grade?"

"I would appreciate it." Shizuka breathed heavily. Narumi sat on his chair and grunted remembering the pain of having young adults complain. He continued with emphasis on his hands, "I gave you the grade. You reflect on the grade. You try again. And I might even give you a better grade. That's how the system works, Shizuka-san."

"I'm aware of that, sensei. I just wonder why my paper is graded poorly. The English of the paper was written perfectly." Narumi allowed his hands to massage the temples. "I added the good facts, correct punctuations, interesting insights, excellent use of grammar--"

"That's what makes most of your paper wrong." Narumi cut Shizuka off, "Most of it is in poor grammar."

"Iie!" Shizuka took out her paper. Narumi sighed explaining all the corrections on her paper. Not knowing the time she had spent, halfway across town, a certain man was getting aggravated, greatly.

"Where the hell is he?" Seto grunted. Looking at the clock for the hundredth time, he read, "Thee o'clock PM. He was supposed to be here at two, twenty PM. Therefore, the schedule is screwed up. And therefore, he is late." He yelled through his teeth.

"Where is this advisor of yours, Kaiba-san." One associate asked, "Takashi-san, Soumi-chan and I have been waiting for this meeting to start."

"I've informed him before that this was an important meeting." Seto snared, "Excuse me for a moment." Kaiba walked out of the room through the glass doors with a stained K and C on it. Kaiba went into the wing where his office was located.

"Mochizuki, Urehara, Nishizuki, Jin! My office, now!" Seto called their names without even looking at their faces. He zoomed by before slamming the door to his office shut.

The four hesitantly looked at each other before following Seto's orders. Once they were all in the office, there was a dead silence that occupied the room. They all timidly stared at Seto who was a dark mood, "I called you all here today to ask you a simple question, Where in God's name is Shizuko Kanone?"

Silence, "Well?"

"Umm…" Kyoko mumbled flipping through the records that was available in her clipboard.

"He didn't sign in yet, Kaiba-san." Kaito replied in place of Kyoko. "If he did, I would have seen and Jin would have been on duty."

"It's true," Kyoko commented, "the records say that he didn't come into the office yet."

"Well, whoopdi-flippin'-do!" Seto commented sarcastically. "Did anyone bother to even check his home?" Seto reasoned, "Whose job is it to call his home?" All heads turned to Sakataki.

"I did call!" Sakataki defended himself, "No one answered. What about Jin? He's supposed to be watching him 24-7."

"Some idiot didn't give me his address like he's supposed to." He replied referring to Sakataki.

"What about his classes?" Kyoko suggested, "Probably he's still at school."

"He shouldn't have been done by now." Sakataki replied.

"I volunteer to check," Jin raised his hand, "I'm supposed to be watching the kid."

"I'll go with you," Kaito responded.

"Iie!" Kaiba exclaimed, "I want you to dismiss the men in conference room 2-50. Urehara and Nishizuki, I want you to make another meeting with them. Tell them that we'll meet them another time."

Kaito had to think of something. He can't afford to get Shizuka discovered. "Kaiba-san, it's okay. I'll deal with Shizuko. You can arrange--"

"Do you want to get fired?"

"Get it, Shizuka-san?" Narumi questioned. Shizuka sat across from Narumi dumbfounded. All the mistakes she had made were careless. Direct Objects were in the subject's place. Prepositions were placed in front of the sentences and so on. "Maybe you have stress or something. Sometimes stress can make you do careless mistakes like this. You should do something about it. You're one of my best writers in my class."

Shizuka sat there gripping her jeans. 'Maybe, Mai was right.' She admitted, 'I should quit. Paying for the apartment is important, but passing school should be the most important in my life right now.'

Knock- knock

"Damn," Narumi groaned, "It better not be another student. I'm already having a migraine." He messaged his temples before opening the door. "May I help you?"

Shizuka's back stiffened hearing a familiar aggravated voice, "I'm looking for a student of yours. The name of--"

"Kaiba-sama!" Shizuka jumped to her feet seeing him outside the door.

Seto scolded, "You're late, kid!"

"Gomen nasai, Narumi-sensei." Shizuka bowed. She picked up her backpack and started to leave.

"Demo, but Shizu--" Her teacher explained.

"Gomen!!" Shizuka yelled dragging Seto away from the scene. Shizuka pulled Seto out of the building where Jin was outside patiently waiting next to limonene.

"Shizuko!" Seto scolded still being dragged by the likes of Shizuka. "Where the hell are we going?!" Shizuka stopped when she realized that they were a safe distance away from Narumi. Shizuka took a breather while Seto just glared at his advisor. "What the hell is going on? I told you every minute that today there was an important meeting."

"Gomen," Shizuka exhaled.

"Gomen? That's all you have to say? Thanks to you, I probably lost three clients! And those clients are important to the industry of Kaiba Corp."

"He said he was sorry," Jin reasoned with Seto.

"Screw that!" Seto spat, "You have to know the word responsibility, kid. The world out there is cruel. You're better off with me than anyone else."

"Better off?" Shizuka asked in a pissed tone, "Better off?! You think I'm better off in your company. Let me tell you some news that's occurring right now, okay? I'm failing my classes. I have to pass these classes in order to become successful in my job. But you know what's driving me crazy? The job itself is driving me crazy! I've told you, I apologize for what happened. I shouldn't have complained to my professor when in fact I was the one at fault. I supposed to be at work, and didn't even bother to call. I will contact these clients if I have to. I'll explain everything. I'll even take the blame! Just please, accept my apology."

Seto and Jin stood quietly opposite of Shizuka. Seto was about to make a rude remark, when his eyes accidentally fell upon the object dangling on her neck. 'The necklace?' Seto backtracked. 'How could Shizuko have the necklace? Unless,' Seto paused to look at Shizuka once more, 'Nah. It couldn't be.'

"Just come with me," Seto said without any type of tone, "You have a job to do at the office." And with that said, Shizuka followed Seto obediently with Jin behind her. "You better cancel all the plans you have. It'll be a long night."

Plans? Anzu!

Shizuka took her cell phone out of her pocket. She had searched for Anzu's number and called.

"Moshi-moshi? Hello?"

"Anzu-san?"

"Ah! Shizuko-kun?! How did you get my number?"

"I had asked Shizuka for it. I don't mean any wrong but I have to cancel our outing. I have to go to work and I can't really sit and chat."

"It's okay. There's no problem. It's convenient because a couple of friends of mine are asking to join them for dinner."

"Okay, it works out then, ne? Is there another time when we could meet?"

"Umm, we could meet at my place on Friday. Then we could go out to eat."

Shizuka smiled, grateful that she wasn't upset, "Un! Sure! Okay, it's a date. Sayonora, Anzu-san"

"Hai! Sayonora, Shizuko-kun."

END Shizuka pressed the button and sighed. "Com'on, kid! I'm gonna leave you behind if you don't get in this car." Seto exclaimed through the door of the limonene.

Anzu hung up on her end, smiling.

"Who was that Anzu?" Otogi asked.

"It was Shizuko, you retard." Honda replied, "Why did he call?"

"I was going ask him if he would like to come with us. He said he had work. So I guess he can't make it."

"Poor baby," Mai sighed.

"Hai," Anzu smiled. She looked at her cell phone and thought, 'Me and Shizuko, Friday night, can't wait.'

"That reminds me," Yuugi commented walking alongside with his friends, "Where's Shizuka? Did we forget to invite her?"

"I bet she has some studyin' to do." Jounouchi grumbled, "Dammit, guys! Are we gonna walk around and wonder what everyone else is doing or are we going to eat?!"

The gang cheered crossing the street. After they had crossed the street, the limo that had crossed their path turned out to be the limo where Kaiba, Shizuka and Jin were in.

1 Narumi was borrowed from anime named SPIRAL; good series, a must.

I would like to say I have my condolences for Pinkstarz. I'm terribly sorry that some idiotic person would report the story. And I'm also sorry to responding to this late.

I remember, ­­­­Kikirini-chansaid that he/she requested that there wasn't going to be a Anzu/Shizuka pairing, but I'm thinking of adding a Anzu/Shizuko instead. It's a twist on words.

Lately, there have been some unfortunate twists in my life; from emergencies, to failing classes, to death of a loved ones, to just being uninspired. Therefore I was unable to update fics as quickly as I imagined. And I feel pretty guiltily about it. This year, I plan to be quicker to finishing up these fanfics. So those who gave up on me, that's fine; I won't kill anyone. And those who are still by my side, I thank you for giving the courage to move on! Make this new year a special one.

Much love, lady or weirdness