Author's notes: Auugh! Death to University! So here's the deal guys and gals: I'm a bitch today. Life stressful. Leg Broken. (Because of my own rush seeking stupidity, and let this be a lesson to all you budding adrenaline junkies out there. "It seemed like a good idea at the time" will become an accompanying statement to all manners of injury and the truly absurd explanations for how you've attained them if you don't stop now! It's too late for me, but it isn't for you!) So be nice! Don't make me come up there!
Ahem. But I'm not all doom and gloom – I wanted to thank everybody whose been sticking around patiently waiting on this update for ten thousand years. You're all awesomely awesome! I would kiss each and every one of you if I could. xxoo As for the rating up-age… well, this chapter has some language and innuendo that I want to be safe about, so… yeah. Good times…
………………………
Chapter Nine
Anzu hadn't woken up with a hangover since she was 13.
It had been a nightmare born of her first experimentation with alcohol which she remembered all too well. With Jounouchi's help, she'd put away more vodka than any two kids their age should have even been within sniffing distance of.
Jou had pilfered the goods from his freezer at home - a remnant from his dad's birthday celebration – and snuck it over to Anzu's house. Honda was away with his family at the time, and neither of them would have even considered involving innocent little Yugi in such debauchery. So after some protest on her part and a little provocation from her bold friend, Jou and Anzu sat down on her bed and endeavored to find out for themselves just what the hell the big deal was about alcohol. And lived to regret it.
Mrs. Mazaki found them together in her daughter's bedroom long after the effects of the liquor had been fun; Jou lying down on the floor trying to get the world to stop spinning, and Anzu tearfully cleaning up her own vomit with thick, drunken movements.
In the end, the discipline her parents doled out for the incident was bad, but it paled in comparison to the pain she'd been slammed with the next day. Jou and Anzu had gone far and beyond moderation and seriously overdone it; she couldn't remember feeling shittier at any time in her short life. It had been enough to put her off alcohol for years to come. There was nothing worse than waking up to a huge pile of punishment-style chores and a brain-searing hangover.
Well… at least she didn't think so until she rose the Saturday morning after her night out with the Kaiba brothers. Because the Kaiba Seto hangover she was experiencing trumped even the residual affects of way too much vodka. This was nothing short of hell.
All the elements were there. The horror of recalling the stupid, embarrassing things she'd done, the shame, the urge to pull her covers over her head and never, ever get out of bed again. She even had a piercing headache to contend with, because of the sudden weather change. Of course, while last night had been stormy and miserable, today just had to be sunny and cheerful. Life seemed to take great pleasure in mocking her.
Hey Anzu, the day seemed to say, You know how the highly disturbing memories of the way Kaiba's body felt pressed against yours and the lingering humiliation of almost being caught kissing him are tormenting the crap out of you? I think it's terrific!
"Good morning sweetheart," her mother's perky voice added insult to injury as Anzu, still pajama-clad and bed-headed, groggily dragged herself into the kitchen.
"Hardly," she replied, snatching a cereal box out of the cupboard. "And by the way, we're out of aspirin."
Eri furrowed her brow with concern, "You have a headache?"
"You're powers of deduction are mind-boggling."
"Lay off the attitude Persnickety McSnidenstein," her mother advised, "And while you're at it, maybe you could put your powers of deduction to work for me."
Anzu stuffed a handful of Cap'n Crunch into her mouth and nodded at her mom to continue.
"Well you see," Mrs. Mazaki began, "I seem to have misplaced my daughter, and I was hoping you might know where I could find her. She's hard to miss; tons of spirit, very friendly, constantly cheerful. She's cute too; brown hair, blue eyes… actually, she looks an awful lot like you, come to think of it."
"Mom-,"
"You know, it's the strangest thing… she actually disappeared right around the time you moved in," Eri tapped her chin thoughtfully, "You don't think there's a connection, do you?"
"Okay, okay, enough!" Anzu sighed loudly, collapsing into an empty chair across from Mrs. Mazaki. "I get it. I'm sorry for being so difficult, really, I don't know what's gotten into me at all."
"Well…" Eri studied her pointedly over the coffee mug she was holding, "Is there a chance it has something to do with why you were standing in the rain last night, very closely might I add, with a guy you swear you hate?"
What Anzu really hated was how perceptive her mother could be at times… not that she really had to use that particular skill of hers to reach the stated suspicion. It wasn't as if anybody with half a brain looking at the situation couldn't have put two and two together. They'd been mere millimeters away from kissing for crying out loud.
She blushed, "I already explained what happened, mom."
"Mmhmm," Eri sipped her coffee, "You went on to quite an extent about how innocent the whole situation was. But it's interesting that I haven't seen you act this guilty in a long time. At the very least not since last year when we caught you and the boys trying to sneak into that R-rated movie at the theatre."
"We would have gotten away with it if you and dad had gone to the theatre across town like you always do," Anzu couldn't help but point out.
She didn't add that they'd all wound up watching the movie anyway at Honda's house when it came out on video. Or that while the violence was a bit much, Anzu had found the full frontal male nudity to be hilarious; the boys' aghast reaction had almost killed her.
"Moot point and getting away from the topic at hand," Mrs. Mazaki was a hard woman to distract. "You know your father and I believe your innocence in the tabloid incident, but I think there's a lot you're not telling us."
"Uh," Anzu refused to meet her eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm sure you don't," her mother agreed. "By the way, you're blushing."
"I'm aware thank you," she blushed harder, "Now would you kindly stop it with the lawyer thing? I'm your daughter, not some criminal to be cross examined."
"I'm pretty certain we've already established that my daughter has gone missing."
"Whatever," Anzu rolled her eyes.
Eri smiled, "So… are we ever going to talk about the fact that you and He Who Shall Not Be Named almost kissed last night, or is this another thing we're supposed to pretend never happened?"
Anzu was very glad she was sitting down; otherwise she really would have fallen over. It wasn't that her mother's directness was so surprising – she had it in her – but… well, really. Her mother had verbalized the very incident she was trying to remain in denial about. How inconsiderate of her.
It was obvious what she had to do now.
"Forget pretending," she said, "because it really didn't happen, or almost happen, or whatever. I already told you what happened."
"Right," Eri nodded, "I haven't forgotten your very interesting version of events. This is a really good example, by the way, of what we lawyers like to refer to as plausible deniability."
"You know what?" Anzu stood up, taking the cereal box with her, "I'm not discussing this anymore."
"Pleading the fifth are we? Considering your position, I'd say that's a smart move."
"Augh! You and your stupid suspicions!" Anzu threw her free hand up into the air, "I'm leaving now. If you need me, I'll be in the living room. Watching TV. Because it's Saturday and I could use a little mindless entertainment. I could explain what shows I'll be watching and why, but I thought I'd wing it if that's okay with you."
Eri smiled at her daughter indulgently and very deliberately turned back to her newspaper, "If you're looking for any recommendations, I've heard good things about the cartoon network."
"I'll keep that in mind," she tiredly replied, already halfway out of her mom's sight.
She collapsed onto her dad's armchair when she finally made it to the living room, curling her legs over the side and half-heartedly aiming the TV remote. An old episode of The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show came to life on the screen, and Anzu stared lazily at the wild colors and frantic movements. Wile E. Coyote was engaged in homicidal pursuit of the elusive roadrunner in yet another epic chase.
She narrowed her eyes, suddenly annoyed; didn't the stupid coyote ever grow tired of the abuse? Was a stupid speeding bird really worth all the stress? The roadrunner probably didn't even taste that good – he really needed to give it up. As if on cue, Wile E. was suddenly flattened onscreen by a giant anvil.
Which made Anzu wish for an anvil of her own. It could fall from indeterminable origins like the ones in the cartoon, and squash her before she could do anything stupid in front of or, uh, to her good-looking employer. Of course, there was the fact that in real life, she would be sadly unable to pull her paper thin body from beneath the wreck and re-inflate herself with no major side effects. But if she was an absurdly invincible cartoon character…
Anzu sat up quickly, alert. She was… relating to Wile E. Coyote? Okay, this was worse than she had thought. Yes, there was clearly something wrong with her – almost kissing Kaiba and all – but the cartoon character in question was not somebody to be identified with. He was the villain of the story… intense irritation that was the stupid, smug roadrunner notwithstanding.
And besides, why should she be so tormented over something that the other party involved clearly wanted to happen too? She hadn't been alone out there; Kaiba had been closing in pretty fast, his eyes darkening, lips parting, hands moving towards her waist in slow, agonizing movements that –
Were most certainly not to be recalled with pleasure! But how could she help it? It had felt nice being close to him like that, and he had looked so good in the rain. His hair had separated into thick, wet locks that messily hung over his eyes, provocatively. And the droplets of water trickling onto his lips seemed to soften them, which is of course why she couldn't help staring at them in the first place.
Anzu sighed, burying a burning face in her hands. Things were very rapidly spinning out of control here. Feelings and… and thoughts were getting all tangled up with actions and Better Judgment. Things were being said and done that had no business doing either. She had to get a grip. Better yet, she had to get control.
She thought it over; the problem originated with the obvious… tension that existed between her and Kaiba. Dislike and attraction were battling with each other to the point where neither side was satisfied. And she meant that in every sense. The result had her acting like an idiot, more or less, which was not doing her any favors.
Anzu turned off the TV and rose from her dad's armchair. It was time to stop wallowing and start fixing! There was one tried-and-true method of dealing with problems that Anzu had never shied from in the past and this situation would be no exception.
If she wanted to deal with the problem, she'd just have to confront it head on.
"Hey mom!" she hurried back to the kitchen to find her mother where she'd left her, "Do you think I could have the car today?"
Eri raised an eyebrow at the sudden attitude change in her daughter; where before she'd been sullen and cranky, Anzu was now, minutes later, fidgety and vibrating with purpose.
"Where are you going?"
"Casa Kaiba," she replied, slightly sheepish. But she was resolved to go through with it, motherly mocking be damned, "I have some unfinished business with the Lord of the manor."
"Mm, right," Mrs. Mazaki fished a set of keys out of her purse and tossed them in Anzu's direction, "Just be wary, governess, of crazy wives in the attic. They do like to meddle."
Anzu surprised her mother with an amused smile, "I'll be on my guard."
………………………
While her strongest impulse was to leave immediately after her mother tossed her the car keys, Anzu did have the sense to shower first. And put a decent outfit together. And add makeup. It was almost two hours before she left the house, and almost noon by the time she finally made it to the mansion.
Her momentum was anything but lost, though, and she purposefully strode through the halls she was alarmed to realize she'd become accustomed to. Her keys jangled nervously in her hand as she moved towards Kaiba's bedroom. One of the housekeepers she was on friendly terms with had told her of his whereabouts when she arrived, and while determined, Anzu couldn't help but feel anxious.
She'd never seen Seto's bedroom before, and she was uncertain of her ability to say the things she'd came to say in such an intimate environment. Of course, she was pretty sure Kaiba would move the conversation elsewhere almost immediately. Even so, the whole thing felt weird; Kaiba with a bedroom? She'd always envisioned him plugging into a cold sterile wall to recharge at night, or folding his hands over his chest and slowly lowering himself into a coffin. Well, at least until she'd recently started envisioning… other things.
Okay, she really did not need to be thinking about that right now. Not when his closed door was staring her down, and winning. It was so… solid. Thick, reliable wood guarding the entrance to all that was privately Kaiba. Damn, this was intimidating. Too bad she never backed down from things she later realized she really should have. Oh well. Character flaw, and all that. There really was no way out of it now that she'd come this far.
Suck it up, sweetie. Because at least if the outcome of this torments you later, you'll know you weren't a big fat wuss.
She sighed, trying to fight the butterflies in her stomach and raised her fist to knock as firmly as her shaking hand would allow.
"What is it?" a familiarly deep, and terse, voice called from within.
"It is me, Kaiba," Anzu called back, "I need to talk to you."
Tense pause.
"It's your day off, Mazaki."
"I know that," she pursed her lips at his annoyed tone; it really wasn't encouraging. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to get off easy if she could help it… okay, poor choice of phrasing there, and her mind was clearly locked in the gutter.
She tried again, "Can I come in?"
"No!" he vehemently shut her down.
Anzu scowled, "Why not?"
"Because I said so," he snapped.
"That's not a reason," she petulantly returned, anxiety disappearing as her irritation grew. Why was he such a jerk?
"That's because you are obviously operating under the delusion that I actually owe you an explanation," he shot back. "Go home Mazaki. Even if I did have time for you today, you're the last person I'd want to waste it on."
That sound? Her blood boiling. Anzu decided instantly that she'd had quite enough of his jackassery. She'd come here ready to confront him, so Mr. I-have-a-super-important-bug-up-my-entitled-ass was just going to have to make time.
"You're operating under a few delusions of your own if you think I'm just going to leave after I came all this way on my day off to talk to you," she tried the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. She threw it open with gusto, "Now if you can spare two minutes of your precious ti-yuhhh…"
All speech capabilities deserted her suddenly as Anzu spotted Kaiba, and for a moment the only sound was her keys hitting the carpet with a dull thud.
Oh lordy, he was naked. One hand was frozen reaching into his closet, the other held a pair of slacks he seemed to be discarding, and holy Christ his butt looked way better out of his pants then in them.
Okay, Anzu wasn't a complete stranger to the sight of nude men. There was that mature movie at Honda's house they'd watched without parental permission. And, how could she forget the embarrassing gym class debacle where Jou's boy parts had made an awkward appearance? But… both instances had been funny.
The first because it was just some guy walking around his house exposed and the boys were so appalled at the unexpected flashing, she had to giggle. The second because the moment Jou's junk popped out of his shorts, the teacher was absent and the whole class fell silent. Then, a very hot senior (Mai something-or-other) Jou was crushing on happened to be cutting across the gymnasium on her way to her next class. She smoothly changed paths as her violet eyes took in a Jou as frozen in shock as the rest of them, and she stopped in front of him.
"Congratulations," she'd said, tossing her blond hair confidently, "You're manhood has been established... and outed. Now you'd better put the mouse back in the house, hun, before it dies of exposure. Not to mention the scandal."
She'd winked broadly, while an intensely blushing Jou re-adjusted himself, and Anzu had almost died trying not to laugh at the expense of her dear friend.
This occasion, however, was not at all amusing. Because the nude subject was smokin' hot, all lean muscled torso and… and damn the guy was working that ass. Oh, she was a goner.
Kaiba recovered almost instantly, slipping into his pants and glaring dangerously at her, "Get out!"
But Anzu was not in a very reactive state of mind, eyes stuck on his beautiful naked stomach. It was obvious that leaving the room was the appropriate thing to do, but she couldn't make herself actually move.
Instead, she said the first thing that popped into her head, "Why are you naked? It's the middle of the day for god's sake."
As if nudity was restricted to certain hours.
"I was changing you idiot!"
Which just had to mean…
"You go commando?"
There was absolutely no good reason for her mind to have come to such a conclusion when it was pretty much non-functional at the moment. But somehow the stated fact was the only thing that made sense.
He stared at her contemptuously, "Why are you still in here?"
Good question.
"I… uh… well I came here for a reason."
Now to remember just what that reason was.
Get a grip, she sternly lectured herself, Just… think unsexy thoughts. Unsexy thoughts, right. Okay. I can do this. Just… Oh God, please make him put a shirt on. I'm not ready to start fornicating!
"You," he was suddenly advancing on her, "are teetering on the brink of unemployment, Mazaki."
He stopped in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her towards the door. She was pushed easily out into the hallway, incapable as she was of controlling her own muscles. It was all she could do to remain upright.
"Tread carefully," Kaiba delivered his parting words ominously, framed by the doorway.
Then suddenly, she was looking at the door from the outside again. Although, she did hear the distinct sound of a lock sliding into place. She stared stupidly for a moment as composure slowly returned to her, and she noticed while her thought processes picked up again, that she was shaking. Not for the same reasons as before, of course.
"Oh my gawd," she whispered, leaning against the wall and slowly sliding down to sit on the floor.
Was she seriously nervous a minute ago about being in Kaiba's room, of all things? She couldn't even say what it looked like after all that, although she could give a detailed description of his torso. Okay, that had so completely not gone according to plan. Not that she'd really had a plan going into this, but naked Kaiba had most certainly not been on the agenda. They were supposed to talk. Or… well, she was going to talk and… and confronting was supposed to be taking place. Or something.
Ohmigod!
Well, it seemed the thing to do now was to cut her losses and go home. There was no way to beat the embarrassment of walking in on him naked; almost kissing him paled in comparison. Except… well, naturally yet another obstacle had to go and stand in the way of even this simple goal; she couldn't exactly leave with her car keys locked in his bedroom.
This was officially the worst day ever!
Anzu wearily buried her face in her hands. If the utter humiliation that had just taken place wasn't enough, she now had to subject herself to the further mortification of facing him again. Her cheeks colored as she considered this, and it suddenly occurred to her that he had not so much as blushed during the entire encounter. His voice had risen a little, but he hadn't given off any of the normal indicators that he was embarrassed. Angry, yes, but no signs of humiliation. He really was freakishly composed… or really arrogant. Most likely, both.
She sighed, resigning herself to the inevitable, and made herself comfortable on the floor. Or as comfortable as she possibly could be while feeling so nervous and ashamed. Since there was obviously no way she'd be gaining entrance to his room again in this lifetime, she had only one option.
She'd just have to wait him out.
………………………
Kaiba Seto was a very rich 17-year-old. The richest 17-year-old, actually; he was just rolling in money. There was very little he could not afford.
Which was why there was really no reason to comparison shop for a killer-for-hire. Bargain hunting was so time consuming, and at this point he would be willing to pay top dollar to have an assassin take care of his brother's nanny.
The stupid, bumbling, intrusive moron and her audacity, her total lack of respect for privacy, her obnoxious flapping lips that he could not believe he'd wanted to kiss the night before. Who would be foolish enough to want to kiss her?
Not Seto, that was for damn sure! Or so he told himself while he angrily finished pulling on his clothes. It wasn't that he was so self-deluded he couldn't admit that he'd been a willing participant in their recent flirting and the disaster that had almost come of it. He'd been a little… off for the past couple of weeks, it was true. She had gotten to him in a very sneaky, underhanded and, most importantly, unsolicited way. Clearly, the nutjob had the unforeseen advantage of unwittingly possessing feminine wiles that were somewhat impressive as an adversary.
But he had now identified his opponent and was more than ready to bounce back. Yes, she was pretty. Beautiful, even. He'd acknowledged as much the first day she'd stepped into his office with her insanely long legs and clingy skirt.
But enough was enough. If almost kissing her hadn't been enough to jerk him out of this pathetic downward spiral, having her walk in on him naked had certainly done it. His perma-glare intensified the more he thought about the incident. His door hadn't been locked; it had never needed to be locked. His household staff knew better than to enter his bedroom. Not even the maid service went in there; it was forbidden.
Of course, Mazaki didn't pay attention to the house rules. No, not her and her stubborn idiocy! He was surprised she'd even bothered to knock at all. And after he'd expressly told her that he didn't have time for her today, which was incidentally true; he was changing for a business lunch. Not that it had stopped her, naturally. And she berated him for his lack of manners and his overgrown sense entitlement! She was unbelievable in every possible sense! And lucky. Because if Mokuba didn't like her so damned much (and why the hell did he?) she would be so fired there'd be nothing left of her but ashes.
The thought cheered him, and he smiled sadistically as he strode across the room. A pile of Mazaki ashes. She wouldn't be so attractive then, would she? And the disposal would be so simple! Ashes could be swept away to disperse in the wind and never thought of again.
…Which was actually a really good idea, the more he entertained it. Mazaki was gone now, he had more immediate problems to deal with, and she only impeded his capacity to fully function. Redirecting his train of thought to a more productive path, Seto resolved not to waste another second on her and her nonsense.
Of course, the "out of sight, out of mind" trick only worked if the object of one's dismissal actually remained out of sight; Kaiba opened the door to find her casually leaning against the wall in the hallway.
His smile vanished instantly, "Are you trying to get yourself fired?"
"Okay, a) you're not going to fire me," she stood up to meet his eyes, and Kaiba noticed she was still blushing, "And b) I should not have barged into your room without knocking and I am so, so sorry."
He narrowed his eyes, "I doubt that. You seemed pleased with the view."
It was true; her mouth had been agape and her eyes had not moved from his form until he'd slammed the door in her face. Had Kaiba been in a better mood, he might have found it amusing. Annoyance was as close as he could get at the moment. Even if she did look adorable in her two layered tank tops and sheepish posture. Determination and anger created a nice little fortress to defend against that particular attack today.
She colored to the roots of her chestnut hair, "I would wipe the image from my mind if I could."
Well, at least he could take comfort in the fact that her memory wasn't eidetic. Because there were a lot of images Seto wished that he could forget which his photographic memory wouldn't allow him to. The way a certain very annoying girl looked rain-soaked, shivering, and inches away from his face, for one.
But as far as Mazaki was concerned, his naked backside should fade from her not-so-precise recollection in good time so long as she didn't see it again. Which she most certainly would not.
He sighed irritably; he really didn't have time for whatever this was right now. Already he'd seen more of her than he'd wanted to today, and she had seen far more of him that she ever should have. (Certain past considerations moot.)
"I don't know what it is that you want, Mazaki," he brushed past her to leave, "but I have things to do and Mokuba is not here. I'll have my chauffeur take you home."
"No, it's okay," she awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, "I have wheels today… actually, I think I dropped the keys in your bedroom so…"
He relaxed minutely. So that's why she was still here.
Kaiba turned to find her regarding the carpet with obvious embarrassment and that blush still hadn't gone away. Resisting the urge to press his fingers to his temples, he wordlessly pushed his bedroom door open and, sure enough, a set of keys rested on the floor beside the entrance.
"Thanks," she mumbled, bending to retrieve them.
And Seto firmly focused his gaze on the bright pink 'World's Greatest Mom' keychain between Anzu's fingertips to avoid staring at the baby blue thong straps emerging from her capris as she stooped. Not to mention the smooth stretch of soft-looking skin her hiked up tank was suddenly exposing. As if he needed that kind of stress today on top of everything else.
He waited for her to leave the vicinity of his room, before very firmly closing the door and Anzu fell into step beside him as he moved to leave the mansion.
"Same direction," she explained at his peripheral scowl.
Kaiba grunted, and very pointedly picked up his pace, eager to ditch her. He wanted to insult her to relieve some of the tension, but he'd learned enough from their past encounters to be sure that was not the way to handle things. Such actions would only serve to increase her attractiveness.
"So," an obviously uncomfortable Anzu interrupted the heavy silence to make a valiant attempt at civil, normal conversation, "Where is Mokuba today?"
"Mrs. Aihara wanted today off to take her grandchildren swimming," Kaiba coolly explained, "Mokuba was invited to go with them, and I said it was okay."
"Oh," her tone perked slightly and Kaiba was sure that if he looked at her (which he was pointedly avoiding), he'd find her smiling. "Good. That sounds like fun for him."
"Mm."
Non-committal noises were safe.
Beside him, Mazaki heaved a determined sigh, and he caught her chin raising out of the corner of his eye. She tipped her head up completely, before he could fully look away, and turned a beseeching gaze to the heavens.
"What are you doing?" he found himself asking, "Don't tell me you've turned to religion."
"Not really," she replied, "Just… looking for an anvil."
He would not ask, and indulge further idiocy. But apparently she was now on a roll.
"Look," she began in an emboldened voice, and he knew that he was not going to like whatever followed.
He knew that tone. That… inflection she got every time she was about to say something he was not particularly eager to hear.
"This is really so intensely awkward right now, it's kind of the perfect time to get all this highly embarrassing stuff I need to tell you out of the way." Anzu giggled nervously, "Because who wants to recreate this scene later on, right?"
Yet another homerun; Kaiba was starting to wonder what it felt like to be wrong. Not that he'd ever know, of course.
He finally stopped to look at her. They were outside now, beneath the clear, careless sky and escape in the form of his Porsche was just a few yards away. She had no trouble meeting his eyes this time around, and he couldn't help wishing she'd kept them fixed on the ground. He hated when she put them on equal footing and was unafraid… which was all the time actually, and what had gotten him into trouble in the first place. She really was infuriating.
"I won't bother citing dignity or self-control as reasons for you to shut up and leave already," he scornfully decided, "because you clearly possess neither. But I won't sell you short; you have a talent for humiliating yourself without trying. Don't feel like you have to impress me by doing it on purpose."
"Pry yourself away from the ego-bong for half a second before you overdose," she advised, rolling her eyes, "What time is your appointment?"
"That is none of your concern," he snapped.
"Fine," Anzu sighed, "I'm going to guess 1:30, because you were only just changing when I got here and I know that you are never in a rush."
Even with the telltale blush that returned to her cheeks at the allusion to certain events, her accuracy was unnerving. But Seto refused to let it show.
Not that he needed to, it seemed.
"You have far more than two minutes to spare," Anzu decided, "which is all I need."
"You've already had more than your fair share," he narrowed his eyes, "But far be it from me to stand in the way of your need to prove what a fool you are."
"Your generosity moves me," she deadpanned.
Finally after steady, unrelenting annoyance, a smirk found its way to Seto's lips. He couldn't help but take pleasure in her growing irritation.
"You have my undivided attention," he assured her, "So try to at least be entertaining."
"Well you have a sick sense of humor, so you'll undoubtedly find this hilarious."
Anzu's hands began to flutter and she bit her lower lip nervously, but her gaze remained steadily fixed on his.
"Okay so here's the thing, Kaiba," she ran trembling fingers through her hair, "Lying doesn't exactly agree with my system. I mean, I've been trying it out lately - a lot actually – and it's not really working for me. My conscience is rejecting it, I think, because I've always strongly believed in honesty. With my parents, of course, and my friends, but especially with myself. And avoiding the truth can be tricky, because it never really goes away – it just kind of hovers around in the background driving you crazy and putting you in compromising situations and just basically guilt-tripping the hell out of you. It's enough to get a person picking up their ethics from wherever they discarded them, and dusting them off to start fresh."
Kaiba expertly kept his features schooled in a mostly expressionless façade, but he was incredulous beneath the surface. He wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to say to this, so he just did what came naturally to him.
"Riveting speech," he commented drolly, studying his nails.
"Yeah," she agreed with forced cheer, "Well public speaking has always been a talent of mine. If this dancing thing doesn't pan out, I'll make a killing on the motivational circuit."
"Now I know you're more ambitious than that," he caustically observed, "Forget shepherding spineless losers to buy your books when you could skip right ahead to starting your own cult. I'll even supply funding for the Kool-Aid if you promise to drink it too."
"Honest people don't start cults Kaiba," Anzu soberly replied.
She stepped forward, pinning him with eyes that refused to quiver with the rest of her. The girl was bold, he'd give her that; she probably really could start a cult. He didn't imagine she'd have trouble swaying people, if not through charm and sweetness, by sheer force of her impressive will.
"So coming to the point," she continued, "I'm not going to lie anymore. Last night may have been stupid, and it was probably a huge mistake, but I really wanted to kiss you. And I think you would have kissed me too if my mom hadn't interrupted. You can deny it, if you want, but I won't believe you."
Kaiba narrowed his eyes. Of course he'd wanted to kiss her – that was the problem. That was what he was recovering from, and trying to forget, and move on from. It was temporary insanity. Who the hell did she think she was, barging in on him and ogling his nude body, only to follow it up with the admission that she'd wanted to kiss him? As if that much hadn't been obvious. As if they weren't supposed to be pretending it never happened and going back to hating each other.
It was a tie in the game, the mutual almost-kiss, a freebie to remain off the record. It was cancelled out on either side of the scorecard. Why was she trying to make it count for something?
"I don't know what you think you're accomplishing," he said with a glare, "But… that was nothing."
She took a step closer, and Seto was suddenly very uncomfortable at her nearness. The stupid girl was close enough that he could make out the sapphire flecks in her eyes, close enough that her body heat caressed him. Of course, he couldn't take a step back now without conceding defeat.
Damn it!
Anzu was raising her eyebrow, a challenging gesture, "A mistake?"
"Yes," he replied firmly and succinctly, "Exactly. A mistake."
She smiled, and Kaiba was struck by the fact that she wasn't trembling anymore. In fact, she looked downright confident. How the hell had the tables turned so fast? At some point in the past thirty seconds or so, she'd found her footing, and now she was looking to disarm him. He stared her down, holding onto his cold expression. She would not be winning this round.
"I thought," she said very deliberately, "that Kaiba Seto didn't make mistakes."
Seto felt his frustration mounting at the remark; he could feel the corner she was trying so calmly to back him into. He controlled it, refusing to lose his cool.
"I don't," he assured her, "The mistake would have been kissing you."
"Maybe," she agreed, eyebrows knitting together, "but you wanted it as much as I did. And I think that we'll find ourselves in the same position sooner or later if we just ignore it."
"We won't," Seto assured her, "because I won't let it happen."
"Is that so?" she leaned forward, poking him in the chest, "Care to put your oh-so-disposable money where your mouth is?"
He laughed at that. Did she really think she could win a bet with him in which actual stakes were involved? An announced, official, competition? She may have held her own against him in the past few weeks, but she was way out of her depth here. He couldn't lose this.
"You're challenging me?" he wanted to be clear, "And what are the terms?"
"I kiss you first," she said, "and you may humiliate me however you choose. But if you kiss me first, I get to keep my earnings for this job to spend as I choose, and you can foot the complete bill for Abukara in the fall."
Kaiba smiled, the wheels already turning in his brain on just how he would humiliate her when she lost. She had something coming to her anyway, after the indignity he'd suffered earlier because she apparently didn't know how to knock. He owed her.
"I accept," he said, "and you're going to regret it."
She simply smiled at that, mellowly, confidently, "Well then I guess it's game on."
………………………
Anzu sat in her mother's blue Accord for a full five minutes after Kaiba's Porsche fed her dust. She was too hyped up to drive, adrenaline making her body tremble for the billionth time that day. But a sense of accomplishment enveloped her even as she wondered about the bet she'd made with her boss (Kaiba wasn't one to lose). She'd said what had needed to be said, she'd confronted the problem head on, and she didn't know who that bold, confident girl she'd been channeling was, but she was welcome to stick around! With her help, winning the bet wouldn't be a problem.
Of course, she also had to take into account the other girl she was channeling today. The hormonal girl who could not get the image of Kaiba's hot bod out of her brain. That girl might pose some threats, but she could be controlled, right? She wasn't a slave to her passions! Honda was so very wrong about her impulse control issues; she was a master of self-control. Besides, what kind of nympho freak couldn't keep her hands to herself? Honestly, there was nothing to worry about.
Except, maybe, Kaiba's insanely competitive nature that would pull out all the stops to win anything. Which meant…
Oh shit.
………………………
Author's notes: Gratuitous nudity! Meta-humor! Gratuitous nudity! Jane Eyre! Gratuitous nudity! … Yes, I'm shameless. But on the plus side, it totally cheered my cranky ass up – and maybe if I'm lucky it'll make the "We want Racy!" camp happy.
Anyway, I pushed the tabloid stuff to next chapter, because this one was getting pretty crowded. Also, next chapter: Anzu continues with her honesty theme.