Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 12: Broken and Shattered

Earlier on Friday

Seto and Mokuba climbed into the limo that would take them back to the mansion.

"Where's Noa?" Seto asked.

"He said he was leaving separately."

"To do what?"

"I don't know," Mokuba shrugged, and leaned back. "Now…what was it that you were going to tell me?"

"Ah, that," Seto looked directly in front of him. He still didn't answer.

"Well? How come Noa knows and I don't?"

"Because he figured it out," Seto replied.

"Are you trying to suggest something?" Mokuba cocked his head.

"Of course not," Seto replied, looking at his younger sibling. "It's really not much of a big deal anyway. Look: you know that new secretary of mine?"

"Miss Gardner? Yeah," Mokuba replied, "What about her?"

"She's not Miss Tea Gardner," Seto laughed.

Mokuba narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I mean…that just an alias so that the press doesn't find out that Anzu Mazaki is working as a lowly secretary."

"Oh," Mokuba nodded, content, and reclined a little. Seto raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this calm reaction.

Mokuba suddenly sat up, "WHAT! ANZU!" Seto smiled. There it was.

"And where have you been?" Mokuba asked the minute Noa stepped in the front doorway.

Noa sent him a small glare, "That's my business." Mokuba didn't budge from his spot. "Give it up, Mokuba, I'm not saying anything," he walked passed his brother.

Mokuba stiffened and suddenly whirled around, "Noa? Have you…been drinking?"

Noa froze, "Uh…what makes you say that?"

"It's not too hard to notice," Mokuba coughed.

"What's a little wine here and there? We've all had it before."

"That's not just wine. I know what wine smells like."

Noa looked over his shoulder, sending his brother a stony glare, "Alright…so maybe a had a sip of a Bloody Mary, is that so bad?"

Mokuba blinked, "You? Bloody Mary? Noa!"

"Come on: even you know it isn't so bad."

"As long as it was just one sip, yeah," Mokuba replied. Noa averted his eyes. "What? How much did you drink!"

"Half a glass…a full glass…that's about it…I think," Noa shifted.

"And here I thought I actually knew you better than this," Mokuba stated softly. "What on Earth got into your head? You know what Seto says about drinking that kind of stuff!"

"We're not kids anymore, Mokuba! We can make our own decisions!"

"Seto's still older than us! He knows what's best! You and I are barely adults! We're only twenty one! We have our whole life ahead of us!"

"Will you stop getting on my case!" Noa spun around, "I know what I'm doing!"

"Sure you do! Just watch one day when you're out with some girl…and watch the mistake you make then!"

"Mokuba!" Noa yelled at him, "You KNOWI wouldn't do that!"

"Oh? Like I knew what kind of a risk taker you are? You actually drove home after drinking that stuff!"

"At least I could drive, unlike Anzu!" Noa shouted back.

"Anzu?" Mokuba suddenly softened his voice.

"Yes…Anzu," Noa heaved.

"What about Anzu?"

The two boys turned to look up at their older brother, standing on the stairs behind Noa. They didn't seem to register the fact that he was there, or what he had asked. "What about Anzu?" he repeated.

"She…got a little too tipsy for safety, so she couldn't really drive. That's all. I drove her, though."

"Tipsy?" Seto scrutinized his brother, "Where exactly were you?"

"Somewhere with plenty of wine and Bloody Marys," Mokuba threw out quietly.

"What?" Seto snapped.

"I had a drink or two-"

"Or three," Mokuba muttered.

"IS THAT SO MUCH TO BE WORRIED ABOUT?" Noa related, tensely.

"And yet you were still driving…with a passenger-"

"WILL YOU TWO STOP GETTING ONTO ME ABOUT THIS!" Noa yelled. He stomped past Seto, who had made no move to stop him. Just before Noa went into his room, however, Seto asked:

"What was Anzu doing, drinking?"

"She was stressed out about something," Noa retorted simply, slamming his door shut.

"Temper, temper," Mokuba shook his head.

"She was upset about something?" Seto crossed his arms. He had a feeling he knew what.

"And by the looks of her when she was leaving Kaiba Corp., it seemed like it had just happened," Mokuba added. Seto sighed. That proved his point then.

But Anzu wasn't alone. That kiss wasn't just haunting her: it was haunting him as well.

"Do you know something, Seto?" Mokuba asked.

"No," he replied, rather quickly. Seto turned on his heel and left.

Anzu woke up the next morning, feeling the effects of the drinks the day before. She lazily got up to get two Advils ®, then slumped back into her bed. She wasn't ready for the world yet.

After about an hour of resting and dulling her headache, she got up and trudged downstairs to meet her parents, hoping that the past day's words had been forgotten. Anzu walked into the kitchen, expecting to see a sight from the old times: her father drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, while her mother sat at the table cutting out coupons out of the newspaper while watching TV. But neither of her parents were there.

Anzu shrugged. Oh well. Perhaps, for some odd reason, they were still in bed. Anzu rushed up stairs just to make sure that was the reason. She wasn't going to take any chances. They were getting on in years, after all.

Anzu poked her head into her parents' room. They were sound asleep. She could tell: her dad was snoring and her mother had just shifted and bumped into her father, causing a sudden abruptness in his snore-fest.

Anzu shook her head a smiled. Just like the good old times. Now why hadn't she just asked to stay here again, when she came home? Ack, who knew? Anzu could visit as many times as she wanted, after all.

She crept back downstairs and made herself a simple breakfast –never one to be very hungry in the morning, but today, she needed something to tide her over.

Taking a couple Pop-Tarts ® to the family room, Anzu plopped down onto the couch and turned on the television at a low volume.

It was a commercial break on every station. Anzu sighed. She hated when it did that! Of course, this gave her time to reflect upon yesterday…although that was something she did not really want to do.

Should I really go see Seto? Funny…she didn't call him Kaiba…. I mean…he probably is the best person to see about this…ego of mine. But after what happened yesterday…can I face him this early? Maybe I'll just wait until Monday. Then again…I should get this problem fixed as soon as possible. But I can't face him! What if…what if I accidentally…KISS him again! I must say, I can live with being…"rich" for a little longer. But getting lovey with Seto? Ah: no. I don't think so.

Or did she?

Of course not! What an idiotic question? Tell me, Anzu, since WHEN did you think about Se-Kaiba in this way…or ANY of the Kaibas in this way?

She smirked to herself. There. She had reached a point decision. When had she started liking them? She couldn't say. It was a thought-on-the-spot, wasn't it?

No…you started thinking like this when THEY started liking YOU.

Anzu slapped herself. That was not true! Neither Noa nor Mokuba –and just to reassure herself, Seto- did not like her in that way! It just…wasn't possible.

Was it?

Anzu accidentally squished the Pop-Tart in her hand, venting out her anger. She winced when she felt the stickiness of the filling all over her palm.

"Stupid men," she sighed, walking back to the kitchen to wash her hand. "Men. Are. Stupid."

Up on the staircase, Mrs. Mazaki stood behind a wall, watching her daughter. She bit her lip. 'Men. Are. Stupid.' That was not a good sign…because Anzu had sounded serious when she had said it.

Anzu had walked the few blocks to the bar that day and gotten her car, then drove home afterwards. She spent that Saturday, and the Sunday after it, lounging around, trying to sort out her thoughts and feelings.

This did not work so well.

Not only could she not bring herself to go visit Seto about her…problem, but she kept getting that nagging feeling that something was going on that she didn't know about. Her parents had been all but inconspicuous about it.

So, Anzu had another relaxing –if not stressful- day.

On Monday, it was time to return to Kaiba Corp. for her job.

"Lord help me," she prayed as she drove to work in her car. "Help me…." Anzu wanted to avoid Seto all day as much as possible, until after working hours. Then, she would approach him, where she could leave as quickly as possible, if necessary. It had worked on Friday: why wouldn't it work now?

She drove into the paring lot, and made her way slowly up the building, deciding to take the stairs, rather than the elevator. The farther away from Seto Kaiba she was: the better.

Anzu whooshed onto the top floor, and went down the familiar hallway, with her head down. She didn't want to look at anyone. Besides, her thoughts were trained more on avoiding Seto and how to attempt to talk to him after work.

She was suddenly grabbed by her forearms and spun about ninety degrees. Anzu looked up, flustered.

"Hey, you okay?" Noa looked into her eyes, sincerely. "Is something bothering you?"

Anzu smiled, helplessly. Noa always made her want to smile for some reason, "No, I'm fine."

"Really?" Noa asked her. His eyes still bore into hers. Anzu couldn't help but feel light-headed. His eyes just looked like one of those night-skies: ones that roamed for miles on end…ones you could get lost in.

"…Yes, I'm fine," she managed to get out. "And…thanks for…looking after me on Friday. I wasn't thinking straight."

Noa smiled, "No…you weren't. And I'm starting to wonder now…if I'm thinking straight."

Before Anzu could question what he was talking about, Noa had cupped her jaw, and placed his lips on hers.

Anzu internally gasped, but closed her eyes all the same. Like his eyes…his kisses were inescapable as well.

Mokuba drank from a glass of water, as he walked down his section of the top floor. Around him, workers were already busy running files to each other from separate cubicles. He noticed that at the end of the hallway, some workers were stopped and looking down the right side of the hallway. They all had a stunned expression on their faces. Mokuba knitted his brows together. What was going on?

Mokuba quickened his pace. What could capture all of their attention like this? Usually it took Seto's shouting to do that. But this hallway…seemed unnaturally silent!

Mokuba took a step out into the hallway and turned to the direction they were looking. He froze – the glass he was holding dangerously slipping from his grip.

No wonder all of the people's attention had been captured.

Noa –his own brother! - was kissing Anzu Mazaki! A strong surge of jealously flowed through Mokuba's veins. His clutched the glass so tight, he thought it might shatter.

In a sudden fury, he chucked the glass object into the wall of the worker's lounge. It collided with the wall and shattered into hundreds of tiny fragment; water splashing onto the wall and down to the floor.

Everyone's heads shot around. Noa and Anzu separated and simultaneously looked at the source of the earth-shattering noise.

There was a dark spot on the crisp-white wall of the worker's lounge, and glass shards lay at its base.

But Mokuba had left long before anyone noticed who had chucked the glass.

Anzu looked back at Noa, who was still looking the other way. She backed up, and he turned his head back towards her. "I…um…think I have to go," she rounded on her heel and walked quickly down the rest of the hallway to her desk.

Noa watched her go. His breathing was a little irregular. He looked around the hallway, and noticed many of the workers still watching him.

"What are you all staring at! Get back to work!" he commanded. The workers jumped and were on their busy way once more. Noa looked back in Anzu's direction once more and then walked his way back to his own desk.

Seto heard glass crash down the hallway. He was in his office at the time, typing away at his computer. He rang the desk downstairs, "Sherrie?"

"Yes Mr. Kaiba?" the receptionist on the bottom floor asked.

"I want a janitor up on the top floor immediately. I heard something break."

"Yes sir," she answered. Seto hung up.

He concentrated once more on his work. Well, half concentrated. The other half of his mind was on Anzu. He felt he ought to tell her something about what had happened Friday. True, she had started the whole ordeal –going and kissing him like that-, but hadn't he gone along with it? Heck, this fact even surprised him! And then…on that account, she had gone and gotten herself drunk, so Noa had said. He felt slightly guilty that he was part of the fact that she had done that. If Noa hadn't been there to help her, she could have been in quite a bit of trouble.

But Noa WAS there, so what's to worry about, one side of him said.

But one must always wonder what IF?

Who cares about IF? It's WHAT happened that matters.

I probably should have been the one there for her. Not Noa. He had nothing to do with this. And so…it's half my fault again that I put HIM in danger as well!

Quit dumping on yourself. What's done is done, and nothing went wrong!

Still…I feel slightly guilty.

Since when have you ever felt GUILTY about something like this!

"Touché," Seto said to himself. That part of him had a point. Then again…he was a changed…or changing, at least…person; was he not?

I need to talk to her later…whenever there's a chance, Seto sided with himself. All he had to tell her was that nothing was…meant by the action and that they should just forget all about it. Yes…that was it.

Mokuba had his head in his hands, and his elbows propped up on his desk. He didn't blame Anzu: oh no. This was all Noa's doing. He was the one holding her, anyway. No, Anzu was not to be blamed. But Noa…. How could he? Then again, Mokuba remembered that he too, had kissed Anzu once. He had never told Noa that.

Alright…we're even, Mokuba stated, But this…means war.

Mokuba just barely registered one fact:

Something…rather, someone was causing a fault between their brotherhood!

But for once, Mokuba didn't care. Brotherhood could be repaired. But Anzu's love was one of his major priorities right now. After all, it seemed that plenty of people might be after Anzu. If he didn't try to get her, at least, she would be gone – out of his reach forever.

Mokuba COULD NOT have that.

Anzu straightened the last pile of files. Most of the workers…okay, all of them, save the Kaibas, had gone home now. Now she had to talk to Seto. Anzu sighed, and laid the papers aside. She grabbed her purse, and stood up. Walking the few steps to the door, she stood in front of it, and raised her hand to knock.

But she didn't knock.

Come on, Anzu…just KNOCK. It's not so hard…just move your hand forward a little, and wait. Once you talk to him, it will be all over and done with. Just KNOCK!

Anzu lowered her hand. She couldn't do it! No, not now! Anzu turned on her heel and walked quickly down the hallway.

Seto looked at the clock. Working hours were over. He stood up. If he was going to talk to her, he had to do it now. Seto walked over to his door and opened it, peering to the desk beside his office. It was empty. He looked down the hallway, and saw Anzu standing at the end of it, waiting for the elevator.

"Good," he muttered. He began walking quickly towards her, "An-"

The elevator doors opened, and Anzu walked in. Seto walked even faster, "Anzu, wait!"

Anzu noticed him and a flash of panic crossed her eyes. She immediately pressed the "Door Close" button. The doors began closing.

"Crap it," he muttered, breaking into a run, "Hold it, Mazaki!" He was just about to reach the doors. He stretched out his hand to stop them from closing-

They shut. His hand was just half a foot away. Seto cursed and looked to his side.

The stairs.

He could still catch her if he hurried. Seto launched himself down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

He came down a minute later and saw Anzu rushing out of the lobby doorway. He ran after her.

Once outside, he spotted her getting into her car a ways down the parking lot. Seto ran after her, "Mazaki!"

Anzu spotted him out of the corner of her eye. Pretending not to notice, she started the car, and quickly put it into reverse, backing out of the lot.

Seto skidded to a halt on the pavement, but her car was already at the exit, and turning onto the street.

"Da-!" Seto started to cuss.

"Seto? What are you doing out here?" Seto turned around. It was Mokuba. The boy looked shaky.

"Nothing. What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing concerning broken glass," Mokuba replied. Seto screwed up his eyebrows. If that wasn't a strange answer….

"Whatever. Let's get Noa, and get home."

"Okay," Mokuba nodded. Seto walked off. Mokuba looked back at a dumpster not too far off.

He loved money.

He liked the ability to waste money.

Buying glasses (cups) just to chuck them into a dumpster and watch them shatter was really fun; and a good way to relieve stress. He felt a little guilty about the manufactures just having wasted their time in making the glass…but who would know?

Yes: Mokuba felt happy now.

I love destroying things: it really is fun, and relieves stress. But I will never destroy this story, just as long as you review! Now, I had thought about lengthening this, but…well, what I had in mind I thought should be saved for next chapter. Anywho, PLEASE REVIEW!