A/N: Thank you all… well, that is, MOST of you for your patience. Uni/work/RL obligations have been kicking the shit out of me these past months (causing me to be insanely busy) and I appreciate those of you who have refrained from badgering me for immediate updates.
The good news is that I'm done with one of those three evils for the summer (Uni) which frees up a lot of time for fanfiction. I hope to be updating a lot more frequently now so thanks again for waiting!
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Chapter Seven
"Expect an ambush," Eri casually advised her daughter when she returned from her impromptu extra shift with Mokuba.
Anzu scowled; while it had been nice spending the day with her cute charge, her mood had long since returned to its prior dark state in his absence. The limo ride home (thankfully sans Kaiba) had given her a chance to check her cell phone messages and every last one of them pertained to her "relationship" with her boss.
She warily peeked inside her mother's open study to find the woman going over the particulars of her latest case. In pink bunny slippers, no less – the very picture of legal professionalism.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded impatiently.
"You're still in your pajamas," Mrs. Mazaki smilingly noted, ignoring the query.
"My paramour wouldn't let me change before we left this morning."
No doubt petty vengeance for daring to do him a favor, Kaiba had literally dragged her out of the house the second they'd made their deal. He had places to be, he'd snappishly informed her, there was no time for her to "attempt beautification."
"Uh-oh," her mother grinned. "Lovers quarrel?"
Anzu glared, "I sincerely hope you've taken to speaking in antonyms."
Eri laughed, "You just watch yourself. And tell the boys they can stay for dinner."
"They're here?"
"Yes, laying in wait in your bedroom." She fixed her daughter with a knowing look, "They seemed contrite."
Anzu absorbed this with some satisfaction; contrition was good. Contrition meant apologies were bound to be afoot and cruel accusations were about to be taken back. She could live with that.
"Finally some good news," she muttered, starting in the direction of her room.
As promised, her friends were waiting for her when she arrived at her destination and true to her mother's word, looked awfully repentant. Well actually, Yugi and Honda looked sorry – Jou was too busy trying to pry the lock off her diary to look anything but determined.
Yugi noticed her first, "Anzu!"
"Huh?" Jou's head snapped up and he promptly flung her diary away from him wincing when it hit the far wall with a thud. He smiled sheepishly, "Hey!"
"Guys," she said guardedly, tossing a quick reproachful glare at Jou. "What's up?"
"I… that is, we are sorry about this morning," Yugi told her in a rush, "Right guys?"
"Yeah," Honda nodded. "We should have believed you."
"True," she agreed.
"It's just that the picture caught us off guard," Yugi continued, blushing. "It looked like… it was… we were surprised."
Jou clapped his shy friend on the back, "I think what Yug here is trying to say is that nobody looking at that picture thought Kaiba was unfastening your seatbelt."
"Right," the vertically challenged boy turned redder. "But… if you say that's all that happened then it has to be true. I think we were all too upset earlier to realize that."
"And we didn't get a chance to closely study the photograph," Honda chimed in, "And decide that your explanation was plausible after all."
"That too," Jou grinned, "And besides, who says the jerks running that trash rag aren't good with Photoshop?"
"I hope you all know how frustrating you are," Anzu shook her head, "Why couldn't you have reached this conclusion before you dragged me out of bed to berate me this morning?"
The three nervously exchanged glances before Honda smiled sweetly, "Uh… because we're male?"
"Yes, well I suppose that goes without saying," she rolled her eyes and collapsed onto her bed next to Jou. "I forgive you of course. Because I happen to be a good friend."
At Yugi's stricken countenance she backtracked, "Just like the rest of you… most of the time."
Yugi beamed at her, and she couldn't help but return his smile. It really was hard to stay mad at them when they were offering sincere apologies and tactfully refraining from commenting on her suspiciously pajama-clad appearance. Besides, Yugi had the sweetest smile on the planet rivaling only Mokuba's. You couldn't be angry with a face like that, and with the day she'd just had, Anzu didn't have the energy to try.
She let herself relax, pleased to be back in her friends' good graces and vice versa. In the middle of an insane situation, she needed her guys to be her anchors. She couldn't have them conspiring against her like the rest of the world.
"Aww," Jounouchi clutched at his heart, dramatically, "She really loves us!"
Which reminded her…
"Did you read that in my diary?"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Jou swore.
She shoved him off the bed.
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By Monday, Anzu knew the chances of clearing her name regarding her supposed not-so-clandestine encounter with Kaiba every tabloid in the city was now broadcasting were nil.
It started on Sunday when she'd made the mistake of accompanying her parents on their mall expedition to acquire new patio furniture. Her mother had teasingly offered her an enormous pair of sunglasses and a weathered baseball cap before they left the house and Anzu had almost considered not going. This would have been the smart thing to do.
Instead, not only was she unwise enough to leave the house, she left the disguise at home. And promptly regretted it. No sooner had they entered the Garden Center of her dad's favorite department store than two adolescent girls approached her.
"Are you Mazaki Anzu?" the shorter of the two wanted to know.
"Um, yeah." She had replied cautiously, trying to recall if they'd met before.
"Wow," the blonde pig-tailed one regarded her with something akin to awe, "So did you really go all the way with Kaiba Seto?"
To which Anzu responded by promptly turning on her heels in the direction of her dad's truck where she remained with the doors locked until her parents returned.
She had been recognized. By complete strangers. In a public place. And unlike professional famous people, she didn't even have the wealth to soften the blow of such intrusiveness.
It wasn't until Anzu was well on her way home that she realized she hadn't issued a stern resounding 'No' to the pig-tailed girl's rude question. She hadn't even politely disengaged herself from the situation. She'd simply fled like a big, fat coward. So much for good PR.
Now, a day later at the mansion, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the household staff which had been so blessedly ignorant about the whole situation on Saturday was rather informed today. For every co-worker she encountered who wouldn't meet her eyes, there was another who met them all too boldly. A few smirks were thrown into the mix, and just to make things interesting a handful of disapproving frowns.
For not the first time since the incident, Anzu felt the urge to stand in the middle of the hallway and scream to anybody who would listen that she was innocent, damnit! But that would no doubt hinder her cause more than it would help and lend credibility to the assumption that she struggled with impulse-control issues. (A condition Honda had first labeled her with after the Ice Cream Debacle of '02 – which was, in her defense, post major humiliation. But whatever.)
The fact was, now that the rumor was out there with an incriminating photograph to back it up, denials of any kind were useless. She could protest the accusations until she was blue in the face, and nobody would believe her.
Instead, Anzu was determined to accept it. So people thought she was dating a rich and sexy, albeit obnoxious guy. There were worse things. Sure it sucked but her parents, Yugi, Honda, and Jounouchi believed her. Did it really matter if a bunch of strangers and a few casual acquaintances thought otherwise?
Absolutely not. Let them think what they want, she knew who she was and that's all that mattered. Everybody else could get bent.
She held her head as high as she could without straining her neck and walked purposefully towards Kaiba's office. It was time to collect on that favor.
It was too bad really that what she was prepared to ask of her smug employer wouldn't suitably put him in his place for everything she'd had to endure up until this point. She really would have enjoyed exacting revenge.
Damn this soul of mine!
Anzu didn't even hesitate when she reached her destination, boldly throwing open the door without knocking and insolently strolling inside.
Her forceful intrusion didn't seem to faze Kaiba; he continued to shuffle through the paperwork he was putting in his briefcase without sparing her a glance. But the sudden tension in his jaw was a definite sign of acknowledgement. He was annoyed.
"When your brain catches up to you," he said, "Perhaps you should remind it of the concept of knocking."
"Just trying to relate to you in a way you can understand," she informed him, "Knocking is, after all, a courtesy civilized people enjoy."
"And one unemployed people don't have to worry about."
"You know, I was really hoping we could skip the 'idle threats' portion of our morning banter," she mused aloud, casually taking a seat in his custom leather chair behind the desk.
Maybe, Anzu conceded, she was enjoying her upper hand too much. But it was rare form for anybody, particularly somebody like her, to be in the wonderful position of having Kaiba Seto indebted to her. If she couldn't use the favor itself to make him suffer, it was at the very least her duty to ensure everything leading up to it was unpleasant for him.
"Mazaki," he finally looked up from his papers to glare at her. "What is it that you want?"
She leaned back into the leather, making herself comfortable. It wasn't hard; the chair was large and soft, and it molded to her body perfectly. It smelled faintly of Kaiba's cologne and she could tell he had been sitting on it very recently from the warmth he'd left behind. The thought excited her somewhat, for reasons she really didn't care to explore.
"Quid pro quo," she stated businesslike, forcing certain unwanted thoughts out of her mind. "I held up my end of the bargain, now it's time for you to deliver the goods."
Anzu underlined her professional tone by kicking her legs out and spinning around in the chair like a four-year-old. Her tenuous position of power combined with the sensation of Kaiba's left over body heat was making her giddy.
She was a little in love with the big, imposing chair that cradled her; it was very conducive to gloatingly holding something over another. It suddenly made sense why every ruthless business person needed one. She found herself wishing arbitrarily for a smoking jacket and a glass of cognac to swirl around smugly just to complete the picture.
Anzu covered her laughter by sternly clearing her throat.
Kaiba, for his part, was not amused. He circled the large desk until he was standing in front of her and met her inclined gaze, his expression unreadable. She would have felt intimidated by how large and threatening he appeared towering over her seated form, were it not for the chair.
Under the circumstances, she stared back serenely, unconcerned with his intrusion on her personal space. It was apparent from up close that he'd taken a shower within the last thirty minutes. His skin still had that telltale glow about it, fresh and clean, and she inhaled the subtle fragrance of his soap. He smelled really good. Better than the cologne-scented leather she was buried in.
"Tell me what you want," he demanded in a low, rumbling voice.
That was so completely unsexy and did absolutely nothing for me, Anzu lied to herself. She followed it with a much-needed dose of truth; I really don't like this guy.
"Tickets," she replied.
"Tickets," Kaiba repeated.
"Yes, there's this really skilled magician coming to town – Copperfield's "student" or something – and I thought we could -,"
"We?" he interrupted to scornfully look down his nose at her. "You did me a favor so I would be forced to endure a date with you? I knew you were pathetic, but this is a new low."
Anzu scowled, her rising attraction squashed once more by his assiness. He really was so much more appealing when he kept his stupid mouth closed.
She fashioned her face into an expression she hoped properly communicated what she was thinking - which was 'Bitch, please' – and waved her hand dismissively.
"You've clearly been reading a little too much of your own publicity," she snapped. "Now shut up and let me finish. Mokuba brought this to my attention in the first place, you know. He told me all about it on Saturday, while I was here covering your desperate ass."
Seto's eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing.
"He really wants to go," she told him. "Actually his exact words were, 'I should take you to see him,' which is just too cute and sweet to be denied, don't you think?"
His posture changed almost imperceptibly in response to this, but it was enough to show he was relieved. And Anzu could see why. With Mokuba's part in all of this, Kaiba was getting a sweet deal; she was practically doing him another favor in exchange for the one she'd already done for him. Or so he thought.
"Fine," he said with a nod, "Two tickets for-,"
"Uh-uh, not so fast," she smilingly cut him off. "Three tickets."
Kaiba stiffened slightly.
"Why?" he asked in a very deliberate tone.
"Because you're coming too, genius." She rose from her seated position, regretfully leaving the chair behind. Then before he could ask, "Because it will make your little brother happy, Kaiba. And I am perfectly willing to suffer through your company for one night if that's what it will take."
The implication being of course that if she was willing to make such a sacrifice, surely the little boy's own flesh and blood should rise to the challenge.
"We'll be seen together in public," he reminded her in an obvious attempt to dissuade her from what he evidently found to be a distasteful prospect.
Nice try boss, she thought, but I'm over that. Mostly.
"Occupational hazard," she glibly threw his words back at him. "Besides, everybody thinks we're together anyway, so what difference does it make at this point?"
He pursed his lips and studied her contemplatively, and Anzu tried not to be affected by his steady perusal. Unfortunately, it was a lot more difficult without the chair.
Almost unconsciously, he drew nearer bringing his heat and aroma with him and she tried very hard to get her rapidly beating heart to slow down.
"Do we have a deal or what?" she prodded, finding it suddenly necessary to break the silence.
"Fine," he agreed evenly, without stepping back.
"Good!" she beamed at him, "It's on Friday, so you'll have to work your magic before then. We can discuss it more tonight."
Kaiba nodded slightly, and the matter was resolved. But he was still blocking her body with his own, still looking at her, eyes slightly narrowed, mouth twisted downward in a frown.
Was there something else he wanted?
Anzu sighed. If he was going to stand there all day and look at her as if she were some particularly frustrating jigsaw puzzle, she might as well leave. She was, after all, here for Mokuba.
"Okay, well I guess we're done here then."
She moved to step around him, hesitated, and then gave into an urge that had been plaguing her since Kaiba had first arrogantly stepped into her personal space. She didn't really know what came over her, or why she had to do it but later settled for residual giddiness from sitting in the Big Foreboding Chair of Smugness as a plausible explanation.
The fact was it was instinctual. Reflexively and without conscious thought, she found her hand reaching up towards his face. It was the most natural thing in the world to flick her wrist and smooth an errant strand of hair that had fallen out of place from the rest of his bangs.
Unfortunately, Kaiba didn't seem to think so.
"What are you doing?" he demanded, irritated.
"We can't have you entering the public eye looking anything short of impeccable," she told him, blushing only faintly. She covered her embarrassment with an exaggerated wink, "Not my boyfriend."
He scowled and moved away. "I see you've already moved past the weeping and gnashing of teeth right into the infantile jokes phase."
"Well, despite the fact you left tabloid exposure out of the fine print when I accepted this job, I can handle it so long as my friends believe me." She smiled, "And anyway, if there's one thing you learn growing up with humor addicted parents, it's that sometimes you have to laugh at yourself."
"I wouldn't know," he assured her.
"That's because you take yourself way too seriously."
He scoffed, "Mazaki, life is serious."
She shook her head, "That's interesting because I distinctly recall once hearing you say life's a game."
"What's your point?"
She gave him an odd look. That was a surprisingly dumb question for a so-called genius.
"Games are fun," she explained. "They're not supposed to be serious."
"Not for amateurs," he replied. "But if you expect to win, there's no time to joke around."
Of course not. Anzu found herself rolling her eyes, surprised at her own efforts – it was futile to argue with Kaiba about these things. Of course, that didn't mean she was about to stop. She could be stubborn too.
"Do you remember fun?" she wanted to know. "I mean, I don't question that you were probably an odd and precocious child, but even you must have experienced fun at some point in your lifetime."
At this, he raised an eyebrow. He didn't answer, but his expression approached incredulous as though he was caught half way into processing the fact that she'd actually asked such a thing.
She took advantage, "Just think about it for a second. Was there ever a moment, just one moment when you can recall feeling completely, naïvely, no-strings-attached happy and nothing else? And if there was, don't you ever miss it?"
Now she couldn't believe she'd asked such a thing. Once more Anzu was experiencing that recent Kaiba-assisted phenomenon where were mouth disengaged from her mind in his presence. Even so, she held her breath waiting for whatever answers he would give her. Her curiosity regarding the matter was surprising.
He almost knocked her over when he smiled in response. And not one of those mocking, condescending smiles she so frequently saw him wear, but a genuine, honest-to-goodness smile of amusement. His lips pulled away from his perfect teeth in a shockingly pleasant manner, and Anzu felt her knees get a little shaky when she noticed the underutilized dimple appear in his left cheek.
Beautiful.
"I cannot believe," he said, "That you actually thought I would answer such an asinine question."
Ah, so the amusement had been at her expense. Even so, if that rare smile had been the pay-off, Anzu couldn't bring herself to care.
"I… huh?" she responded, oh-so-articulately.
"I saw the look on your face." At this point the smile became a full-fledged smirk, "You really expected me to share some touching little anecdote from my childhood."
"Nope," she shook her head. "I didn't ask for a story. Just wanted to know if you had one. There's a difference."
"Not in terms of relevance," Kaiba replied. "Although, I have to congratulate you. That's the first time in our association where you've actually been funny."
The one instance she wasn't trying to be.
"And the first time you've actually given the appearance of possessing a soul," she returned.
This time Anzu squashed her irrational impulse which involved patting his cheeks in a patronizing manner. She was growing rather irritated, past playfulness.
"Would that be the part where I observed your pathetic behavior, or when I actually pointed it out?"
"Neither," she told him, startled by the bitterness in her voice. "It was when you smiled."
He drew his brows together, "What?"
"You heard me," she stepped past him, once again prepared to leave. "The ground just might open up and swallow me for saying this, but when you actually mean it Kaiba, you have a beautiful smile."
She was too annoyed with her raving mouth to even be embarrassed by the admission and too angry at Kaiba for his Kaiba-ness. The way he had to ruin every single moment that approached something that even resembled friendly or just plain non-argumentative. She didn't even know why, for that split second, she had been expecting more. She didn't even know how she'd gone from smugly holding a favor over his head to waiting with bated breath to learn more about him.
What she did know was that she'd had about enough, and accordingly moved to exit the room without so much as a backward glance.
Of course, that's when Kaiba chose to do something completely unexpected, reaching out to take hold of her arm before she could get away.
She met his eyes with a particular nasty glare, "What?"
Kaiba's face was impassive as his icy blue gaze met her fiery one, but Anzu could have swore she witnessed a glimmer of something… softer than what she usually saw in his eyes. Then, even while her anger began to ebb away against her will, the very edges of his lips quirked so faintly and so swiftly had she blinked, she'd have missed it.
"Stop flirting with me," he advised.
And Anzu was suddenly struck with the fact that he was teasing her. Kaiba Seto. Teasing.
Before she could even begin to process this new and bizarre information, he dropped her arm a split second later and turned his back to pick up his briefcase.
"Anyway, you've wasted enough of my time," his tone resumed its normal coolness as he ushered her away from the office he himself was ready to leave. "And I'm sure Mokuba must be awake by now."
"Uh… right," Anzu dazedly followed his lead, still trying to connect the dots in her head. Kaiba… teasing… arm still tingling from where his fingers had been… sadly overactive libido.
They walked down the hall together in silence, until reaching the point where they were to part ways, Kaiba delivered his parting words.
"I'd advise you to refrain from doing anything stupid in my absence," he said, "But I don't believe in miracles."
He didn't stick around for her to deliver a snappy comeback, and even if he had, there wouldn't have been one. For once, Anzu had nothing to say.
So he didn't believe in miracles. She added the information to her slowly increasing mental file on her annoying employer.
That's funny, she mused, until about two minutes ago, neither did I.
The thought made her smile.
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A/N: Ohmigod! Do you believe it? Our favorite couple actually dropped their adversarial roles for half a second and had something of a "moment" there! Progression, people! I swear I don't know what came over me.
Next chapter: The plot actually gets a boost when Kaiba and Anzu go on their pseudo-quasi-Mokuba-accompanied-"date" and are forced to play nice. Also, I watch an old Yu-Gi-Oh and deduce that the true reason why the dubbed version of Kaiba is such a big asshole isn't because he's all angsty and misunderstood. The Tool does it for his own amusement. (And mine)