Author's notes: I've warned you all in my profile that my updates are erratic. Ugh. Now that I'm back in Uni, my schedule has been absolutely hellish. Anyway, I actually got a second to plant my ass in this chair and update! She lives!
So thanks all for the love n' patience! You guys are so darn awesome.
…………………
Chapter 5
Seto hated unexpected surprises. He hated how they came up out of nowhere with no prior warning, tampering with plans, and forcing adjustments. The nagging reminder that there were things in the universe that even he could not anticipate or plan for was an unwelcome variable. Yes, he was excellent at adapting to sudden change, or controlling situations on the brink of slipping out of hand, but it irritated him to have to bother.
He especially hated when such unforeseen occurrences threw him off his schedule.
Take today for example; it was appalling that he, Kaiba Seto, had actually overslept. Granted, his alarm clock had broken, it was still unjustifiable. His body was trained better than that, knew better than to rely on a paltry device to ensure he began his day on time. Normally, he would wake before his alarm went off on his own, instinctually jerked from his shallow slumber by his terminal self-sufficiency. The clock was a mere precaution.
It was true that running an hour late wasn't an actual disaster, he'd admit, or even cause for real concern. He did things on his own time for the most part, with the flexibility to come and go as he basically pleased. It was an advantage that came with being the boss, which was not to say that he didn't work hard or had the freedom to slack off.
It was simply that he wasn't governed by the same rigid schedules as most of the people he had working beneath him, and should he need a day off or choose to come in late, there was nobody to consult first for permission.
Which was precisely why he was currently taking his time getting ready, a rather brisk pace as was the norm for the young CEO, but certainly not hasty. He would not allow an anomaly in his routine force him to actually act in a manner that would suggest he was trying to make up for it. The plan had now shifted; he'd come into work an hour later than he'd expected to be there, but would not emulate an appearance of urgency that would tip others off to the fact.
He would be casually deliberate to show that clearly he meant to be there at the exact second he arrived, no sooner, no later. He would bear his irritating mistake internally, since how he looked to others was always more important than the truth of what he genuinely was.
To be perceived as somebody who could fall prey to the limits of a human body, was to show weakness. People like Kaiba Seto were not weak, and thus did not ever do anything as careless as oversleep.
Oversleeping was something people like… Mazakidid. He could just see her, he thought contemptuously while buttoning his dark burgundy shirt, frantically rushing around a room positively spilling over with color. Her clear blue eyes would dart about randomly while she rummaged through a mass of vibrant clothes with one hand, and tried to tame a protesting mass of rich brown hair with the other.
Seto frowned as he reached the last button, annoyed at how attractive the image was. This was the problem with being a genius; his brain was so precise, so affixed on details and how they collaborated to produce every seemingly simple situation. It would always shed light on all the complexities, revealing the whole of the picture instead of just a fraction.
In this case, it was Mazaki Anzu in all her sleep disheveled glory, all eyes and limbs, moving around with that inherent grace she so inexplicably possessed. It often struck him as odd, how she could be so impulsive and heedless, completely lacking caution, often putting her foot in her mouth, but so… smooth at the same time. For all her barely restrained strong emotions, melodrama, and just… loudness there was fluidity in her movements, finesse in her frequently acerbic wit, and just a sense of overall style in how she handled herself and her connections with people.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes as he slipped into a perfectly tailored jacket, suspicious of his own fixation on the stupid girl he was unfortunate enough to have to see every day. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was developing a ridiculous, juvenile… crush on her. Of course, that couldn't very well be the case as he could never be prone to such weakness. But still… why did he give her so much thought?
Because she was the enemy, he rationalized, and it was always important to know one's enemy thoroughly. Although… Seto shook his head in an attempt to disperse the unwanted images of just how thoroughly he could know her and yanked open his door with more force than necessary.
This was ridiculous, he decided, determined to purge the insignificant girl from his mind. There were far more important things to think about and there was no way he'd let himself be distracted by –
"Well good morning, Kaiba!" the voice was bright and preternaturally cheerful. "I thought you said we wouldn't see each other today."
He forced the cringe off his face before turning to confront the source of the disturbance. Bright-eyed and perky, Mazaki was obviously ready and enthusiastic to face the day. She smelled incredible too; a fruit medley of grapefruit sunscreen, strawberry shampoo, and peach-flavored gum. Dressed casually in a skin-baring ensemble of jean shorts and a sleeveless top, hair falling carelessly around her face in a way he suspected was calculated on her part she was, in short, effortlessly beautiful. He wanted to kill her.
"I suppose that was just wishful thinking, on my part."
In a move that was becoming trademark, Anzu pushed chestnut bangs out of her rolling blue eyes and tossed her head with something akin to disgust. Although, if he wasn't mistaken (and he so rarely was), she seemed to be adjusting to their mutual dislike for one another and adapting.
He observed this in the way she didn't get all flustered and defensive at his rude comment but rather fixed her gaze searchingly on him once it had finished its northern trek. Her pink lip-glossed mouth parted in a suspiciously self-satisfied smirk and she tilted her head, watching him. He was loath to admit her somewhat smug perusal of his person disarmed him, but it did.
"No…" her tone was slow as though she were working out some internal problem. "You wouldn't have said we'd miss each other today unless you planned it that way, and given the fact that you don't exactly strike me as a last minute type of guy, I'd say that you, Kaiba Seto… slept in."
To say he was aghast at the proclamation would be an understatement. Even so, Kaiba managed to keep his expression neutral while his mind issued the steady command to deny everything, and he sneered at the infuriating nuisance.
"I most certainly did not," he icily informed her.
"Once again, I meet with the Kaiba version of 'As if.' Defensive much?" she shook her head with amusement which naturally irritated the young CEO to no end. "But I'm still not buying it; I know you too well to suppose you made some last minute change of plans this morning."
I know you too well. He didn't know what was more horrifying: The fact that such a statement followed the accurate assessment that he had overslept. Or that her perceiving something that was so innately uncharacteristic to how he was generally viewed indicated she was familiar with him in a more intimate manner than he would like. Either way, the exposure of even a mundane and distinctly human weakness to her eagle eye was too much to bear.
"If you know me as well as you claim to," Seto replied, "Then you should be fully aware of the fact that I never sleep in."
"I know you well enough to be sure that you'd never admit to it."
He glared down at her smugly beaming countenance and with a curt nod, moved to brush past her, "I don't have time for this."
"Right," she agreed, "On account of oversleeping and all."
"No," he corrected her, unwilling to leave the matter unresolved, "I don't have time for this because I am a busy man with obligations and responsibilities your pathetic teenybopper brain couldn't begin to fathom."
"Well don't let me keep you then." Anzu smiled brilliantly, "You're already late enough as it is."
She knew. It was that simple, there was no getting around it. Any denials or evidence he could provide to the contrary would have no effect on her maddeningly accurate perception of the morning's events. There was no way to convince her that his presence in the household an hour past the time he'd planned to be gone was intentional.
This was a far superior victory to a cutting remark or witty comeback, and she snatched two points right from under his nose. Not only was she privy to a moment of weakness, she was clearly amused by it.
Mazaki celebrated her upper hand, blue eyes glowing with self-congratulation and stepped back expectantly. It was his move. Seto knew that she was waiting for him to deliver a scathing comment to knock her back down a peg or two, but at this phase of the game he had other ideas.
So he said nothing, gaining leverage with a loaded silence. He slid easily into a condescending expression, one that would communicate how far beneath him he considered her. When he was certain his countenance placed her on par with a cockroach – he could tell by the indignant flush on her cheeks – he held her gaze for two seconds more before very deliberately turning to saunter away.
It was the type of insult few could successfully pull off. A wordless appraisal that voiced its contempt and disapproval to precede an arrogant exit. An exit that was clearly not a retreat but an abandonment of something so utterly insignificant it would be a waste of precious time and energy to prolong the encounter.
He was almost satisfied as he gained distance, but she didn't let him get far.
"Nice try Kaiba," she called to his back, "But I'm marking that as a forfeit."
It was a statement he couldn't very well rebuff now that he'd already dismissed her; it would only give validity to her claims. No, he'd save that for later, watching her get flustered and angry in his car while he stole her victory.
I will crush on her, he decided, back-tracked, cursed aloud.
Crush her, Setoirritably corrected himself, I will crush her.
But the damage was done. Anzu had just won another point and she didn't even realize it.
…………………
Anzu was in heaven.
Well actually, she was in Domino Central Zoo but so long as her escorts were with her, she might as well have been walking on clouds. The bodyguards Seto had sent with Mokuba were monosyllabic, serious-looking gentlemen who'd introduced themselves only as Fujita and Genji.
Anzu had given them her own names. The taller one with soft, full lips and blonde hair she dubbed Hottie McSexgod, the marginally shorter buff guy with a rugged five o'clock shadow and jet black spikes was Studley GreatAss.
She smirked inwardly, watching Studley make the most of his slacks as he walked slightly ahead of her. It was a great day to be alive when smug employers were found to have slept in and finally lost a round of a certain twisted little game. And the eye-candy courtesy of said boss certainly didn't hurt, either.
"I'm going to draw a Siberian tiger as soon as I get home," Mokuba tugged her hand, interrupting her thoughts. "Did you know you can hear a tiger roar over a mile away?"
"Really?" Anzu beamed down at the eager little boy, "That's way cool. Although I have to say I'm just a little disappointed."
Grey-purple eyes wide, he looked up with lips ready to part in a smile – he was used to her and thus expecting a joke.
"How come?"
"Well, it's just kind of a shame that my stomach can growl louder than such a respectable predator."
Mokuba crossed his arms and studied his babysitter skeptically.
"You don't believe me?" Anzu feigned indignation, "Just ask Honda. He called me last week from where he was 2 miles away, begging me to eat something to silence the racket."
He began to laugh, "No he did not."
"Oh yes he did!" she poked him playfully, "Please Anzu, he said, for the love of silence eat a sandwich and cease this vile noise pollution."
"No way!"
"Yes way! He was cranky too! It was the third time in a week my hunger had rudely interrupted a nap."
"Stop!" Mokuba tried to reign in his laughter, "I have to go to the bathroom."
"Oops," she ended her tale abruptly and nudged her charge teasingly, "Don't want to be the cause of any accidents. You really need to go, do you?"
He nodded and she latched onto Hottie's arm with a sly grin, "Could you take him please, Fujita? I don't want to trespass on a boy's only zone."
The bodyguard approved of the suggestion and went off with Mokuba, taking Studley with him. Anzu shrugged easily as she was left alone and unprotected. It wasn't as though they'd come along for her benefit anyway; she was sadly invaluable to any prospective kidnapper.
"Hey there's our girl!" A familiar voice suddenly called out behind her, "And not a runt in sight."
"Watch who you're calling runt Jou," she smilingly whirled around to find her gang approaching. "Even if Mokuba couldn't beat your scrawny butt, which he could, he's armed with a pair of beefcakes today who'd gladly destroy you at his command."
"Ooh Anzu's hanging out with beefcakes," Honda smirked suggestively, "Won't Kaiba get jealous?"
"Would you guys shut up about that already? I told you I don't have a crush on that subhuman."
"We know you don't," Yugi assured her.
"Well good," she threw a casual arm around Honda and Yugi, nudging Jounouchi with her knee. "So, what are you guys doing here anyway?"
"Oh you know, Yugi was going on and on about how long it's been since he last got to tease the monkeys," Jou replied. "And well, how can you say no to that face?"
"Actually, we came to bug you at work," Honda corrected his friend. "Annoying the primates was just an added bonus for Jou."
Yugi smiled ignoring the other two, "Is Mokuba having fun?"
"He is," she confirmed, "But he's such a sweetie, he'd have fun anywhere just to please me."
"It's nice that you're so fond of him," Yugi observed.
"Yeah," Jou chimed in, "He'll love getting a new big sister when you marry into the family."
"Spare me." Anzu rolled her eyes, "Any romantic inclination I might have felt towards Kaiba before would have been squashed after our little encounter this morning."
"I thought you weren't supposed to see him until this afternoon," Yugi recalled.
"I wasn't." She smiled gleefully, "He overslept."
Jou whooped, "That's priceless! Ole I've-been-programmed-to-function-flawlessly Kaiba hit the snooze one too many times?"
"Yeah, it was a real laugh riot." She shook her head, "Anyway, enough about my daily battles with the local megalomaniac. What's new with you guys?"
"My family's having a cook-out tonight," Honda told her. "My mom made me help her set up all these lame paper lanterns and stuff. You're invited."
Anzu noted the slightly desperate expression on his face, golden-brown eyes imploring and she nudged him playfully.
"Translation: Please come and make this bearable for me," she teased.
"You caught me," he slumped, "Jou's helping Yugi clean out his grandfather's garage so if you ditch me too, I'll be stuck to deal with all the old stuffy people and my parents alone."
"Well when you talk it up that way…" he grabbed her hand nervously and she grinned, "I'll be there. What time?"
"Five o'clock officially," he returned her grin gratefully, "You're the best."
"And after you suggested I'd corrupt my gene pool by merging it with Kaiba's," she wrinkled her nose with disgust.
"I'll never do it again," Honda assured her.
Jou smiled wickedly, "I, for one, will make no promise of the kind."
Anzu stuck her tongue out at him, enjoying the easy childishness of the moment. With Kaiba, every encounter was charged with hostility. Their bickering wasn't silly and good-natured like it was with her friends, but rather a fierce competition with high stakes and razor sharp observations. She simply couldn't relax around him. Even during the occasional lulls in their battles, she was too disturbed by her unwanted attraction to him to be at ease.
She couldn't believe this. Who would have thought she'd actually learn to appreciate Jou and Honda's endless teasing? Kaiba Seto really was a bad influence. Perhaps she could present this as evidence to her parents in the case to let her quit her job.
"Anzu!" Mokuba returned, flanked by the two babes, winning smile in place. He furrowed his brows as he came closer, "I didn't know Honda was your boyfriend."
"Huh?" she laughed breezily when she noticed what her charge was staring at and casually dropped Honda's hand. "Oh no, we're not dating. This one's just a big flirt, isn't that right Honda?"
"Guilty," he grinned at the boy. "Some of us have to work a little harder to impress the ladies."
"Of course guys like us don't have any trouble getting girls, right Mokuba?" Jou winked.
He smiled shyly, "Are you going to hang out with us today?"
"Only if it's okay with you," Yugi was all politeness.
"Of course it is." Mokuba beamed at him, "And anyway, I know how much Anzu has been missing you guys lately."
Anzu felt a wave of affection for the younger Kaiba brother and she impulsively grabbed his hand. Case dismissed. Even if she did have to grapple with the idiot related to this sweetheart everyday, and despite the fact her parents hadn't bothered asking before they got this job for her, how could she think of quitting?
"Mokuba, you don't have to let them tag along on my account," she ruffled his hair, "We came here for you."
"I know that. But I don't mind; I like having company," He looked at his feet, "Seto never comes out with me to places like this."
His voice tugged at her heart and Anzu decided right then that she'd find some way to remedy the situation. Even if it meant spending unnecessary amounts of time with Kaiba.
"Well come on then, squirt." Honda interrupted the suddenly solemn moment and looked down at Mokuba, "I want to check out the reptiles."
"Sure!" the little boy was excited again, "Hey can I ask you something, Honda?"
"Of course."
"Does Anzu's tummy really growl louder than a tiger?"
………………………
"Honey, we're home!" Anzu poked her head into Kaiba's office without knocking and smiled sweetly at the scowling CEO.
With the click of his mouse, he saved the document he'd been working on before looking up to glare at her, "Where's Mokuba?"
"Washing up for dinner."
"I trust he enjoyed the zoo."
"Oh absolutely," her eyes shined. "We all had a great time, and there were definitely no major mishaps. Well, except for that incident with the alligators, but the doctors were able to re-attach his arm so…"
His eyes snapped to hers sharply and his deep voice came out in a partial growl, "Never joke about the well-being of my brother."
He had a point…. Well, a small one anyway. It wasn't exactly smooth operating to suggest the child she was being paid to care for was in any danger. But she couldn't restrain herself when it came to Kaiba and his perpetual bad mood. Was it even possible for the guy to be anything but abrasive? Maybe it was true what mothers always said about frowning and how your face would get stuck that way – it was possible Seto's facial muscles simply couldn't pull off any expression that wasn't mean. All she knew for sure was that it really made her want to provoke him.
"If the chill pill was designed with anyone particular in mind, it was definitely you," she decided. "Go take one."
"I'd take arsenic if it would shut you up," he icily retorted.
"No way," she replied, "You're incapable of being that charitable."
Anzu widened her eyes the second the harsh sentiment escaped her lips; that was hands down the most awful thing she'd ever said to anybody. He really was a bad influence!
It didn't seem to faze Kaiba though – if anything his lips curled slightly with vague amusement, approval even. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Now that," he surprised her by admitting, "Was a good comeback."
"I… what?"
Was he serious? Was this an actual admission coming from Kaibaof all people? He was actually openly awarding her a point in their sick little game, and for saying he'd be doing the world a favor if he killed himself no less? Issues, much? And more importantly… what!
His face shifted into an expression of disgust once more at her obvious shock. It was clear that whatever approval she'd won by her fleeting moment of cruelty had been swiftly lost with her awkward reaction to it. Not that she cared. Much.
"Close your mouth already," he told her, rising gracefully from his seat. "You're flooding the carpet with saliva."
She blushingly obeyed his command and then ordered herself not to appreciate his tall, imposing form now that he was standing. His shirt was mostly buttoned today, but his pants fit so well and his shoulders were so broad, and there was the hair and the eyes and that damned mouth. The lips that were impossibly soft and full and… smug. Yeah, she couldn't forget that part – all the arrogance, rudeness and… evilness that came with his hot body and perfect face. It was so very wrong for him to be so very pretty.
"So that's two matches in a row I've now won," she attempted to gain distance from her admiration of him by falling back into an adversarial role. "You're slipping, Kaiba."
"Don't get used to it," he darkly advised, snatching his car keys off the desk and heading for the door.
She followed closely behind him, annoyed to find her eyes dipping down to appreciate the view. She was supposed to be ignoring his hotness, damnit, not ogling the jerk! Regardless, she was still unable redirect her gaze to safer territory soon enough to avoid reaching an irritating conclusion. Namely that the butt briskly walking away in the Dolce and Gabbana slacks trumped Studley's, and when the hell had she become so hormonally charged? Lately, she was almost as bad as Jou and Honda in terms of lechery and they were teenage boys!
"This is ridiculous," she said aloud.
"What now?" Kaiba demanded without looking at her.
She was grateful he kept his gaze averted as it concealed her (once again) flushed countenance from his eagle eye. Now she was inadvertently broadcasting her thoughts? How many ways exactly would her boss prove to have an adverse affect on her, anyway? He was like an allergy. A big, sexy allergy.
When the guys in white coats come to take you away, Anzu told herself, Do yourself a favor and go with them.
"Don't strain your brain trying to think up something clever," he finally looked at her when she still hadn't replied. "It wouldn't do for you to have an aneurism in my hallway."
She glared at him, "I'll be sure to time my death for when it's least inconvenient for you."
Honestly, he was such an asshole! A big, sexy asshole. Ack! Get. Help.
"Just so long as you don't die in my home, I really couldn't care less."
Considering what she'd said earlier regarding his death, she couldn't exactly feel as offended as she was otherwise inclined. Although she was still plenty annoyed on principle and their mutual declarations of indifference (or in her case, joy) regarding the expiration of the other raised some interesting points to ponder. Whether they actually really hated each other, for starters.
She thought about it seriously. It was true that she didn't particularly like Kaiba, and she absolutely loathed the fact that she was attracted to him. He drove her crazy in many, many ways, and he frustrated her until she thought she would burst with rage. But… hate was such a strong word. Truth be told, she didn't know what she felt but she did know for sure that it wasn't the 'H' word. But what did he feel? Did she even care?
… Maybe. A little.
"Do you really hate me that much?" she was mortified to find herself asking.
Shut up already! she ordered her evil mouth, No more saying things without my express permission!
But now that the question was out there, she held her breath waiting for him to confirm that yes, he did in fact hate her that much.
"I make it a point not to answer stupid questions," he replied, scowling down at her. Then he surprised her for the second time that day by placing his hand at the small of her back and roughly steering her out into the driveway, "Finish whining later. Right now, I'm taking you home."
He didn't answer, she thought, and now he is touching me.
Although, it wasn't a gentle caress or anything – more of a forceful pressure really – his fingertips had landed in a very provocative manner on an arguably intimate area. To put one's hand there was to indicate a sense of protectiveness or ownership, whether it was intended or not. And his palm was so warm and strong, digits splayed out on her lower back, urging her forward. Anzu valiantly tried to ignore the way her heart was fluttering and fought to remain upright. Her knees were starting to liquefy.
Which was painfully ridiculous considering he was only touching her in an effort to hurry her along out of his home. Not to mention the fact that it was only her back.
If we ever have sex, I'll probably die.
"So, um Kaiba!" she forced herself to speak, in an attempt to distract herself from such utterly wrong thoughts. "I told Honda I'd be at his place for a cookout right after work, so why don't you just drop me off there instead?"
He withdrew his hand as they approached his waiting car and glared at her while striding over to the driver's side. She was both sorry and relieved that he was no longer touching her. Sorry because, well because it felt good. Relieved because… his glare said it all. Nice, sweet, happy girls were not supposed to fall for evil guys like him. This argument was becoming the center of her adolescent world.
"I'm not a chauffeur," he told her irritably. "Find your own transportation to your friend's house."
"Well I just thought if you're driving me anyway, you might as well-,"
"Forget it." He slid easily into the driver's seat and gestured that she should do the same on her side, "Get in."
"Look Kaiba," she got into the car next to him, determined to convince him.
Aside from wanting to get to her friend's on time… She just really needed to make him do something. It was irrational, but somehow it seemed to her that if she could get him to do this, then they'd be even in some weird cosmic sense. Him bending to her will the same way he made her feel so squishy when he touched her. Or something like that – she acknowledged she wasn't exactly in her right mind.
"You really should drop me off at Honda's."
"Nothing you say will convince me of that, so you might as well drop it."
"His house is closer."
………………………
A handful of guests were already mingling on Honda's lawn when a beautiful Porsche convertible said lawn-owner would have sold his soul to own pulled up in front. Of course seconds later, the vision was shattered when a frazzled young lady exited the vehicle throwing a notably unladylike obscenity over her shoulder at the driver.
"Anzu," Honda smiled at his friend, glad she hadn't decided to stand him up, "You made it!"
She promptly threw her arms around him.
"Uh… Anzu?" He was happy to see her too, but this was a far warmer reception than any she'd ever given him.
"Normal people!" she half-sobbed into his shoulder.
"Well that's not-,"
"Say something sarcastic and I will kill you."
He looked down at his dear friend and deduced by the slightly wild look in her bright blue eyes that she most definitely not kidding. She was clearly still coming down from a fit of Kaiba-induced rage. He had to play it safe.
"So. Who wants salad?"
………………………
Next chapter: Scandal!