A/N: Well, I've been working all day on this, and it kinda shows. I didn't realise when I was typing it quite how insanely long it is. Let's just say it's twice the length of chapter one. But that's okay, considering that I am out for the next three days, then at home on Friday before going away on holiday for two weeks. I shall try to write and post as many chapters as possible this week, but I really don't know how that'll work out.
One thing. For the first few chapters, we shall be taking a 'fast forward' through Az's first year-and-a-bit in Domino. These scenes may seem unnecessary now, but they are important, trust me- particularly in the final fic to this trilogy. So bear with them, I think you'll like some of them…
Disclaimer: I really can't be bothered to think of a witty way to explain what I own and what I don't. So just laugh and pretend I did.
Review Responses:
Willowwind: Well, thanks for reviewing despite what is obviously severe adversity. I hope you figure your PC out soon... I shall miss your E-mails and our classic MSN conversations- about the weather- and I'm going on holiday very early on Saturday, so early, it'll be Friday night for you. I'm hoping to post again before then, but... (Shrugs) And before some smart-aleck points out that you won't be reading this till your comp is fixed, I shall tell them that they may be smart but I am faster.
Dragonlady222: I have to admit that I was suprised to get a review from you for this fic. As I said to my younger sister, I didn't realise you had read Amusing for Inspiration, because I didn't recall you ever reviewing or mentioning it when you reviewed IMM. And I was like, 'Ah! Does she realise this is a sequel to AfI and not It's My Move!' And then I was like, 'Oh well, a review is a review!' I'm not complaining one bit. :-) Great to hear from you, as always.
And so, to the INSANELY long chapter in witch Azreal learns the joy of G&T and PSHE, as does Seto, Ryou gets his revenge on the evil gym teacher, somewhat, and Az takes a trip to the Shrink!
Two: Mind Games
April
The bell rang, indicating the end of Break. The people filed back inside the building from the playground slowly, in no hurry to get to class. Except one girl, who, although she wouldn't ever admit it, was loving every second of it.
Anna couldn't believe that only a week before, she had been in hospital in another world entirely. They say time flies when you're having fun, but that certainly wasn't true in this case. She felt as though she had been here forever. She was having so much fun! Living with her dad and James and Ruby had worked out amazingly well. Her father's wife turned out to be tolerant and accepting, coping with the situation easily, and James was such a cute little kid. She didn't realise that part of this acceptance came from her being so easy to get along with, but it was true. She saw Seto pretty much every day, even if Mokuba still didn't like her, she had a great group of friends already, and all in all, life was pretty swell. Sure, she had only been there a week, but hey, school sure beat work.
She struggled with her locker door, her smile fading slightly as it stubbornly refused to open.
"Stupid thing…" She muttered, cursing.
"May I make a suggestion?" Someone behind her asked mildly.
"Be my guest," She sighed, stepping back to let Ryou in. This had been his locker the year before. Which would probably explain why it still smelt oh-so-faintly of whatever washing powder he used on his PE kit.
"Okay…" He muttered softly, putting in the combination slowly and gently. Then he pulled hard, at the same time as kicking the bottom of the door as hard as he could. It swung open.
Anna and the others applauded, and he laughed, coming out the way to let her in. She quickly pulled out her pencil case, smiling as she looked inside the locker. She only had one picture inside, and no-one knew why she always smiled when she saw it. It was a small comic strip, showing some muddy, dirty sheep complaining about having to have a bath. Only one sheep got out of it, because his coat had been black to begin with, and the farmer didn't realise he was dirty. Underneath, it had written 'Being Different is more Fun'. Seto had cut it out a newspaper for her earlier the week, not that she'd let on. She knew why he had thought it suitable for her. To use an old expression, she was the black sheep of her family, the odd one out, the hated one.
And, yes, she was having more fun.
"What class do you have now?" Yugi asked, as she pulled out her timetable, still not used to it. "It's Friday, so we should have two hours of languages now…"
She smiled gratefully. She had only been there four days, no matter what it felt like, and she still forgot where things were, so someone usually hung around to show her the way. At least she knew the layout of the day now. Form, 2 lessons, break, 2 lessons, lunch, and a final lesson.
"It says G&T…" She looked up in confusion. "G&T? What's that when it's out?"
"Ah, you're with me." Ryou gave a genuine smile. "Gifted and Talented, if you'll believe it. It's just where they shove anyone who already has a second language, despite what they'll tell you."
"Oh." She replied, bidding the others goodbye as they left. She began to follow Ryou down an unfamiliar corridor, only to see Seto striding the other way, looking annoyed.
"What's up with you?" She hissed as they passed each other.
"They're making me take PSHE…They seem to think I need it…" He scowled, whispering. They made a point not to pay too much attention to each other in school, for privacy's sake. If Ryou had noticed the quick, quiet exchange, he was too polite to mention it. He also declined to comment on the smirk twisting Anna's face as she tried to hold back a laugh. The idea of Seto in PSHE was just too much…
"So," She said, getting a hold of herself. "What, exactly, do you do in G&T?"
"Whatever you like, really…" Ryou chuckled, opening a door to one of the classrooms. Anna's eyes scanned it quickly.
"Wow!" She gasped. "Look at all the-" She stopped abruptly and bolted away down the corridor.
After a moment of surprised hesitation, Ryou went after her- only to find her a few metres up the passageway, vomiting into a store cupboard. Ryou turned away, hating to watch people being sick. When she was finished, she straightened up shakily.
"Couldn't remember where the toilets were…" She said sheepishly, closing the door to the store cupboard and leaning against it. "What did I just vomit over?"
"Mr Karita's entire gym supply, from the sound of it." Ryou couldn't help smirking. It wasn't that he disliked the gym teacher… He just hated to ever see him. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"It was that room…" She said vaguely. "So much Creativity…"
Ryou blinked. Okay, so he knew what Anna was- and with his own 'unique' situation, he was hardly inclined not to believe it- but he never really understood it. He stood silently, waiting for her to elaborate.
"I need Creativity to survive, but without the systems they have in place in Wherever…" She wondered how to explain. "I just kind of breathe it in, I guess. And I wasn't ready… It was kinda like overeating. Really fast." She breathed in deeply, forcing the threatening bile back down her throat. "I'm alright now. I'll just have to… 'hold my breath' next time. It was just so full of Creativity… That's what I was going to say. The room is full of M-"
"Just what's going on out here?" The flustered G&T teacher asked, appearing just in time to see Azreal fling open the cupboard door and demonstrate exactly what was going on.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
She was almost glad to get to PSHE after the fiasco of G&T.
"Thanks for bailing me out, Ryou…" She said as they walked down the corridor. Without his quick thinking, the fiasco would have been a disaster of cataclysmic proportions.
"That's quite alright." He dismissed. "You weren't in any shape to lie, really."
Anna laughed slightly. That was true. She had barely been able to hear Ryou insisting that the smell of the freshly-painted G&T room had set her off over her own retching. She had then spent the entirety of the hour in the nurse's office, filling out allergy forms. Fun, and not embarrassing at all. Yeah.
"Hey, there's Téa and Yugi!" Anna said happily, nodding at the queue to the PSHE room. "I didn't know they took this class…"
"Well, Yugi hates languages and would do anything to get out of it," Ryou explained, sounding vaguely amused. "And Téa… well, it's Téa. You're lucky though. We have a new teacher this year- the last one was awful…"
Azreal made no reply as they joined the others at the end of the line. She had just noticed who else was in the line, slumped against the wall and not looking happy about it.
Ryou did not fail to notice, but again, was too polite to comment, as Anna noticed Seto, and how she smiled slightly when she saw him; how she caught his eye, and how, just for a second, a ghost of a smile flickered on his face to. Ryou was sure that there was something there, however unlikely it seemed…
"You should come to!" Téa said enthusiastically to Anna. They were throwing a surprise party the next weekend for Tristan's birthday, and were trying to enlist all his friends to help.
"Sure," She shrugged. "If you'll have me. My dad's wife makes awesome cakes… I can ask her for the recipe if you want, we can have a go…"
"Sounds great! Oh, my aunt makes these great biscuits…"
Ryou zoned out of the conversation slightly. Yes, he was going to Tristan's party, but he was hoping if he stayed quiet enough…
"Ryou!" Téa screamed suddenly, grabbing his arm. "You have to make some of those milkshakes you made for us that one time…" She continued blathering on, explaining to a bewildered Anna between demands 'what an awesome cook he was'. The fact was, he wasn't that great, but when you're living all alone… you have to fend for yourself.
The bell rang again, and it was time to go in, and meet the new teacher. This lesson would surely be spent sizing each other up, figuring each other out, and with Seto and Azreal, on top of Yugi and Téa, not to mention Ryou…
It should be interesting.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"Hello, class!" The teacher said delightedly once they had all found seats. "I'm Miss Basa, and this is Personal, Social and Health Education, or as you may know it, PSHE! I'm so pleased you all chose this class! Languages are useful, but what good are they if you have no communication skills? I'm here to teach you about yourself and the world around you, training you up so that you can become fully-rounded members of society! I hope we're going to have lots of fun at the same time, and hopefully you'll leave my class with a smile, knowledge, and happy memories!"
Anna shook with silent mirth. She could see she wasn't the only one. This woman was certainly… enthusiastic about her subject. She quickly disgusted an escaping laugh with a cough, glancing at Seto out of the corner of her eye.
Sitting in his accustomed position of the back, left hand corner of the room, Seto saw her looking at her, and rolled his eyes. She laughed quietly, knowing what he was thinking.
"Now, I want to get to know you, so that when we start the work we can all be nice and personal and friendly." The teacher continued, not noticing the looks of disbelief and the whispered wonderings if they were supposed to take this seriously. "So, what I'm going to do is take this chair-" She did so, grabbing a chair and placing at the front of the room. "And one by one, you're all going to come out here, and we'll ask you some questions about yourself…" She saw that no-one looked particularly thrilled at this concept. "Don't worry…" She prompted. "We're all friends in here… Look, I'll go first!"
She sat down, and patiently waited for someone to get over their incredulity and ask her something.
"What's your name? Full name, I mean?"
"Miss Sue Basa." She pronounced proudly.
"How old are you?"
"No comment." She said slowly.
"What bra size are you?" One boy called out daringly, causing raucous laughter.
"Ask me again when you're old enough to find out for yourself." She replied calmly, causing the laughter to increase. Standing up and smoothing the creases out on her skirt, she turned to face them.
"And that's it. Three questions, and you're done. Although…" she glanced pointedly at the boy who had been so interested in her underwear. "I think I'd better ask the questions…" She snatched her register list up from her desk. "We'd better just work our way down here…"
Anna saw Ryou, a few seats across the room, sigh deeply.
"So, first up… Ryou Bakura?"
Ryou sighed again, clenching his fists and stood up. You could just tell he was sick of always being at the top of the registers. It would seem that not many Japanese surnames began with 'A'.
He sank into the chair, taking a deep breath, and calming his nerves.
"Okay Ryou…" Miss Basa said, smiling at him. "Tell me, how many siblings do you have?"
Ryou hesitated. "…One. I had a sister."
She was obviously wondering about his use of the past tense, but didn't press it. "And your home town?"
"Stoke." Ryou replied.
"Where?" She blinked.
"Stoke-On-Trent." Ryou repeated, hoping to see recognition on her face, but there was none. Sighing, he gave up on anyone here ever knowing where his home town was. "England." He said dully.
"I see. And what do you dream to do in the future?"
"I want to travel." Ryou said instantly. "Oh, and change my second name so it begins with a 'Z'…"
He returned to his seat to a few appreciative laughs.
"Thank you, Ryou." Miss Basa smiled. "Next up… do with have a Kaho Bijou?"
"Here!" Kaho called, practically running up to the front. Anna folded her arms and rested her chin on her arms, ready to sleep for most of the lesson.
She perked up a bit when it reached Téa. This could be fun.
"Tell us…" Miss Basa considered. "What are you afraid of, Téa?"
"Monsters…" Téa answered, laughing embarrassedly and going slightly red. But she had answered in good humour, laughing at her own folly. Besides, with everything she'd been through with Yugi and the others, she had every right to be afraid monsters- if not necessarily the ones that lurk in cupboards and under beds.
"Okay, that's fair enough. What are your hobbies?"
"I love to dance." Téa smiled dreamily. "I love it when the music just gets into you and you can't help but move to it…" Anna watched in interest as Téa talked. She was so passionate about the subject, it was obviously something she really loved and related to. "It's just the best feeling in the world… When your body becomes one with the music, and you move to the beat, and it's like time stops and speeds up all at once, and you feel nothing and everything…" Téa suddenly caught herself, blushing as she realised how she'd been blabbering on. "Sorry…" She muttered, going even redder as most of the class laughed at her. Miss Basa took mercy on her, and Téa returned to her seat, on Azreal's left, looking as though she wanted the ground to swallow her. Anna lent over.
"I didn't think that was stupid…" She whispered. "I think it's great that you can feel like that about something."
Téa smiled gratefully before turning back to the front to watch the next person get grilled. Anna went back to her previous semi-conscious position and state of mind. As it was, she almost missed her name when it was called, Téa's nudge saving her. She went up to the front, hoping she didn't get a question she couldn't answer.
"Now, I'm going to ask you a hard one…" Miss Basa grinned, so she couldn't be sure if she was joking or not. "Something nice and metaphorical…. Hmm…" She tapped her chin, thinking. "You're new in town to, aren't you? Tell me how you got here."
Azreal knew she was speaking metaphorically, asking what had brought her to this school, and this city, and what had caused her to reach this place in her life. She could have possibly even given a good answer. But, as usual, her mouth got in the way.
"Through the door." She said, as though it was obvious.
Miss Basa gave a sunny laugh. "Very good. There's no flies on you, are there? Well, I think we're going to get on very well…" Her eyes twinkled. "We'll stick to straight forward questions from now on… What is your favourite food?"
"Pizza."
"And least favourite?"
"Anything with fish."
Anna went to sit down, and Yugi made his way to the front.
"Okay, Yugi. I might as well ask the obvious one-" she sighed. "What are your hobbies? As if there's anyone in the country that doesn't know…"
Yugi smiled and answered, predictably, with Duel Monsters.
"What are you afraid of?" She asked suddenly, throwing Yugi a little. He considered. He had been scared plenty of times in duels, and worried for his friends, and he was always secretly afraid that all his friends would die or leave, and he'd be friendless again, but he didn't mind being on his own, as long as he knew people were still there. At the moment, he was perfectly happy with life, and he wouldn't change a single bit of it. And then he realised what, he, the King of Games, who had saved the World on numerous occasions was scared of, scared to death of.
"I'm scared of change." He smiled slightly. "I like things just how they are, and I hope it always stays that way."
Miss Basa smiled to herself. A very mature answer. So she'd ask a final question, and hope it would lighten the mood a little. "Yugi, I want you to tell us something about yourself that no-one would ever guess."
Yugi was stumped. He couldn't tell them about Yami- they'd think he was crazy. And he didn't really have any other secrets… He didn't have time to get any other secrets, certainly not any he was willing to share with the class…
Meanwhile, Azreal and Seto were glancing at each other from the corner of their eyes. He knew what she was thinking. It had to be said. For the sake of comedy, it had to be said…
What would no-one ever guess about Yugi?
Azreal bit her lip. It had to be said. The thing that no-one would guess…
"His hair's completely natural, Miss!" She called, to the amusement of everyone, including Yugi.
"Is that true?" Miss Basa asked Yugi, whilst eyeing his hair and trying to look like she wasn't. Yugi nodded and was allowed to sit down, with some relief.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
They all thought they had finished when Dasikue Yamazuki took his seat, but it was not to be. There was one person who had been added to the class at very short notice, so his name was just scribbled onto the bottom of the register. One person who the despairing school Physiatrist insisted needed the class. One person who it was a very, very bad idea to do something like this.
"One more!" Miss Basa said happily. "Seto Kaiba?"
The room fell silent. She obviously didn't realise what a very, very, bad idea it was. A chair scraped back, and people turned round, gasping as Seto stood and began to walk to the front of the room. They couldn't believe he was actually going to do it. And they were slightly concerned as to what he was going to say…
"Behave…" Anna begged quietly as he passed her desk. He did not reply, going and sitting, arms folded, in the chair at the front of the room…
Miss Basa had just made the biggest mistake of her relatively short career. That was what she would tell everyone later, after she had handed in her resignation and took leave to handle a sudden nervous break down.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
May
Mokuba scowled as he heard a phone ringing next door, in Seto's room. He knew who it was. Until that Mitsan girl had showed up, Seto had refused to have a telephone in there, just so he could occasionally get some privacy. Then he had a phone installed. Mokuba knew that it was a private line, separate to the rest of the house, with a different number. Seto did not give out that number to anyone. Mokuba knew it, but he certainly wasn't phoning his brother.
Which meant it could only be one person.
Mokuba's scowl turned to a frown. It wasn't that he didn't like Seto being happy, but there was something strange about this girl, something he couldn't quite put his finger on… What was she up to…?
Inside his room, Seto picked up the insistent phone, knowing who it would be, still scanning the Excel spreadsheet displayed on his monitor. He knew that Azreal would never phone him unless she really wanted to talk to him, or if she knew that he was particularly stressed, or if she felt like he needed a break from work. Not that he would've minded all that much if she did call more often- they got to talk precious little in the week; but she flatly refused to get in the way of his work, unless he was, in her eyes, overdoing it. What a girl.
"What's wrong?" He asked, not bothering with greetings. Something was obviously bothering her if she had felt she had to phone him. He was answered by a rather panicked Azreal.
"Seto!" She blurted. "I just came home, and I got a letter from the school! They've booked me in for an appointment with the school Physiatrist tomorrow! Why would they do that? Do they think I'm disturbed or something?" She gasped. "I mean, what if they've found out about me? What if he wants to do tests or something? I don't want to have to leave town, but if he's found out, they'll have to-" She became aware that Seto was laughing slightly at her. "It's not funny!" She protested hysterically. "This could be the end of my time on Earth!"
"Az, calm down…" Seto chuckled. "It's okay. They give all the new students a month to settle in, and then they have to see the shrink to see if they need counselling or whatever."
There was silence at the other end of the line. "Oh." Azreal sighed. Seto heard her flopping down on her bed in relief. "Thank goodness…"
Seto laughed, glancing at the clock on his screen. He hadn't realised quite how late it was.
"Aren't you usually in bed by now?" He asked, smirking. "Don't tell me you've been up all night worrying."
"Says Mr Insomnia." She snorted. "I'll bet you're still working."
"No I'm not." Seto denied.
"Seto, I can hear you typing, and you're hardly likely to be playing Final Fantasy Eleven." Azreal said, sounding amused. "Are you on speaker phone?"
Seto made no reply, glaring at his keyboard. It was supposed to be silent.
"Seriously, though…" Azreal said. "You should get some sleep, or at least do something that isn't to do with Kaiba Corp. You know what they say about all Work and No Play… It makes you grumpy."
"Wrong." Seto replied. "All Work and No Play makes me a Very Rich Man."
She giggled slightly. "That's not the point, Seto…"
"It is a point though." He insisted. "Look, don't worry about the Physiatrist, or any of the councillors you have to deal with. They're easy to fool despite all their degrees, and I speak from experience."
"I've no doubt." She said lightly. He could just imagine her smile. "Just how many have you managed to retire recently?"
She said it as a joke, but when Seto answered, it was quite seriously.
"Twenty-one." He said, considering. "Only 3 shrinks though. The school can't afford to get any decent ones, so they just prefer to send you to a councillor…"
Azreal said nothing for a moment.
"Wow." She said eventually. "Now I know why you found it so easy with poor Miss Basa…"
Seto straightened up. "That was not deliberate. If she can't do the job-"
Still, at least they didn't make him take PSHE after that.
"I know, I know…" Azreal soothed mildly, laughing at him. "Goodnight Seto." She hung up, and Seto's room was silent again.
After a moment's hesitation, Seto continued to work on the spreadsheet. How was he supposed to sleep after that?
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Azreal swallowed and knocked on the door before she had time to chicken out.
"Enter!" A slightly-shrill voice called. She did so, pushing open the door to the Doctor's office, which, according to Yugi, had once been a disabled toilet, before the school was extended.
The room was not a toilet anymore. It was the only room in the school that was carpeted, and it was rather dark to. Apart from the typical couch, the room could have been any office in the world, with two bookcases, a desk, the aforementioned sofa and a chair that a rather small, bearded man was sitting in. She just knew that from now on, she would think of him as 'Flitwick'. "Ah," He said, looking at his notes. "You must be Anna. Would you care to have a seat?" She wouldn't, but she did so anyway, just to be polite, sinking onto the edge of the couch with some trepidation.
"Feel free to lie down if it's more comfortable." He offered.
"No thanks!" Anna replied hastily, a little too quickly to prove she wasn't nervous. She pressed on her skirt nervously. She did not want to be sitting down in a skirt so short, especially without a desk in front of her… Embarrassedly, she made sure her legs were as close together as possible.
"There's absolutely no reason to be worried." Flitwick promised. "I just want to get to know you… The best thing about this school is that help is available when ever you need it. We have a number of councillors, and you're welcome to come and see me if ever you want to talk to someone…"
"Thanks." She replied uncomfortably. "I'll bear that in mind…"
Flitwick looked at her. "Does that mean there is something you want to talk about?"
"No!" Azreal cried in some alarm. "I just mean, if there ever was…"
"I see." Flitwick said "And would you come to us first, if you had a problem?"
"No…" She replied, flustered. Then she realised that that might had sounded rude, and hastily amended herself. "No, I mean, I'd probably talk to my dad or Ruby or someone first…"
"And who is Ruby?" He asked. "Your sister?"
"Well, yes, actually, but she lives with my mom." Azreal answered. "Actually, I meant my dad's wife. She's called Ruby to…"
"Your mom and dad are divorced?" Flitwick asked, ears pricking. He sensed a disturbed child.
"Um, well…" Azreal shifted uncomfortably. They'd never actually got divorced, her dad had had his memories wiped of her mom, and got re-married before she had inadvertedly restored them. But how was she supposed to explain that? "Yes, they are. But they parted as friends."
"Why the hesitation, Anna?" Flitwick leaned forward, talking in what he obviously thought was a comforting tone. She leaned back, feeling slightly panicked. "How do you feel about your parent's separation?"
"I don't mind…" Azreal said warily. "It's been like that pretty much since I can remember, and besides, they're both happy…"
"But are you?" He prompted.
"Yes." She answered. "Happier then ever. Everything's great… except maybe this uniform…It wouldn't be so bad if we could wear the same as the boys…"
"Yes, well." Flitwick said irritably. "Let's not stray off the point. Are you happy in your life?"
"Yeah, I just think this uniform stinks."
"I think you'll find," He ground out, annoyed at her. This was about her state of mind, not her ideas on fashion! "That the majority of the girls are happy with the uniform, and you have to compromise. Now, about you-"
"Has anyone ever thought to ask them?" Anna interrupted. "Just because no-one's ever made a fuss doesn't mean they like it-"
"Anna!" Flitwick said, trying to keep his voice under control. "I'm here to help you. Can we get back to the original concept, please?"
"Oh, sure."
He steepled his fingers. "It would seem to me that you are uncomfortable with this situation, that you don't feel you can confide in me. I would hope that one day you'll get over that uncertainty, but right now, let me just give you some advice…" He looked her in the eye. There was no way she could be as happy as she made out, he was sure of it. He'd heard about her, and she was just too happy with her life. And, over the next few days, it was his job to break through the defences and get to her. But he'd have to take it slow. He didn't want to scare her away. "You can change things. People will tell you that you can't, but you can. If there's something you're not happy with in life, strive to change it."
Anna looked pensive. "I'll remember that…" The session was over, and she went to leave. The Doctor put her in for another appointment next week. By that time, he was sure she'd be ready to talk to him…
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
One Week Later…
There came a knock on the door, and without waiting for an answer, Anna stuck her head round the door.
"Doctor?" She asked. "Do you have a minute?"
He looked at her from his desk, not expecting anyone to come in in the lunch hour. "Well, you're not due for another twenty minutes, but I don't have a client right now, so I think I can squeeze you in…"
"Oh no," She replied, smiling as she pushed into his room and handed him a clipboard. "I don't have time for a session today." He looked at her in disbelief. "I'm writing a petition, you see. I remembered what you said about changing something you don't like, so I decided to give a go, just like you told me to! I've got a ton of signatures to change the girl's uniform already, but there's no reason why you shouldn't to!" She pressed a pen into his hand, and he signed the long list numbly. "Some of them don't even want to wear the same uniform as the boys, they just want the choice. Fairness and Equality and all that." She shrugged. "Me, I just don't like wearing skirts." She pulled the clipboard out of his hands, and left the room, shouting a thank you over her shoulder, before closing the door behind her.
Téa stopped the clock, looking impressed. "Twenty-nine seconds with the shrink." She smiled. "That has to be a record."
"Heh…" Azreal muttered. "I may not have retired twenty-one people, but I do get in and out quick…"
"What?" Téa asked, blinking.
"Nothing." She smiled. "C'mon, we've still got to get everyone in the canteen…!"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Another Week Later…
Anna came and sat down oppisite him, on a table in the corner of the almost-empty canteen, as it was nearly the end of the lunch hour.
"Success." She said, grinning like a cat that's got the cream. "Apparently over ninety percent of the girls signed it. And then there was all the boys that were forced by their girlfriends…"
Seto said nothing. Evidently, she had not noticed his signature on it.
"As from September, I shall be wearing the same uniform as you!" She concluded triumphantly as he shook his head wryly. "What's that for?"
"You've been here less then two months, and you've already changed the entire system." He smiled dryly. "I don't know why I expected any less of you."
Her grin widened. "Is that your version of a congratulations…?"
"No." Seto replied, but then raised his half-drunk cup of machine coffee that tasted exactly the same as the tea slightly, and nodded his head. "Congratulations, Az, on your victory over skirts that are too short." He intoned seriously. "This calls for celebration. Do you fancy going out somewhere tonight?"
Anna blinked in surprise. They rarely even got chance to have a proper conversation, let alone go out. Most of the time, she just came to his house. But was he actually suggesting that they went out? In public? Together? "You don't have to work?" She asked, regaining the ability to talk.
"No." Seto answered. "I was supposed to have a big meeting with the head of another company tonight, so I emptied my desk yesterday, but they cancelled. So now I have a reservation at a very fancy restaurant, very private, very discreet, cooking very much better then mine-"
"Not that that's hard to achieve," She teased lightly, but he ploughed on regardless.
"That could be put to much better use then a business meeting." He concluded.
"I would love to." Azreal replied, grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't believe how happy Seto was- she knew how much he had been dreading this meeting, and now he got out of it, and had no work to do.
Seto was feeling unusually happy. He always felt slightly as though he was being unfair on Azreal, the way they ignored each other in school, the way they had only been outside his house once or twice, the way he never showed her how he felt because he was too shy or Mokuba was around, but now he could finally do something nice for her. Restaurants, in all honesty, were not his 'scene', but he knew Az would love the place he had booked. And he knew that, finally, he could just have some time with her to relax…
"The reservation's for seven." He said, smiling despite the fact that if anyone saw him, his ice-god image would be shattered. "But it's quite a drive. Is half six alright for picking you up."
"Fine…" Azreal managed to get out, unable to believe her luck. She wasn't sure what her dad would have thought of her going out to a place like that before, but he had met Seto a few times now, and couldn't fail to notice how much she liked him. He also trusted them implicitly, which would explain why he didn't mind that she was around his house whenever she could. He realised that they got very little time together, so he would be only to pleased to let her go. It would mean that, once James was in bed, he'd get an evening alone with Ruby to… There shouldn't be a problem on the parent front.
The bell rang for form, and Anna stood up, flattening her skirt down as it threatened to ride up.
"I can't wait to get rid of this thing…" She muttered.
"Yes, but you can bet you won't be too popular with the guys." Seto pointed out as they walked to class, trying to look for all the world like they just happened to be going the same way. They wanted to keep their private life private.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"You must really hate those skirts…" Téa laughed as they retrieved their stuff to go home from their lockers at the end of the day. "You've been smiling all afternoon."
"Mmm." Anna replied, knowing she was being too obvious, but unable to stop smiling. "Yes, well you know how I hate these things…"
"I do," Téa smirked, "But I think there's something you're not telling me…"
Anna ignored that last comment, digging through her locker more frantically now. "Hey… Have you seen Yugi's birthday present?"
"Birthday present?" Téa blinked. It was Yugi's birthday at the start of June, about a week and a half away, and they had stopped at a small gift shop before school that morning to get him something. "Wasn't it in your jacket pocket?"
"It was…" Anna replied mournfully, pulling the vibrantly coloured coat from her locker and checking the pockets again. "But I put it in here before form this morning, and I thought maybe it had fallen out in here, but I can't find it!" She forced herself to calm down. "I guess I'll just go to the office and check at lost property…" She sighed.
"You want me to come?" Téa asked, but her friend saw her glancing at her watch.
"No, it's alright, I'll go." She assured Téa. "You get to your dance class- you just make sure that, when you're a big star, I get a ticket to your shows!"
Téa laughed modestly, and bade Anna goodbye as they headed in oppisite directions down the now-empty hall.
Azreal smiled wryly. She was becoming a familiar face at the Lost property office, being her scatterbrained self, she was always losing things. But she was determined not to let it worry her, or, even if she didn't find it, she wouldn't let it ruin her day. She had- to her surprise- had fun shopping with Téa, had changed the school for the better, set a new school record and got one over on the Shrink. To top it all off, it was the weekend, and she was going to a lovely restaurant with her even more lovely-looking boyfriend. The grin returned to her face. Nothing could ruin this day.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
When she reached the Office and the end of her after-school roam through the corridors, Seto was already there, taking a phone call. Since the Head teacher had confiscated his mobile, this was not an unusual site. Seto was constantly getting urgent calls from work. And he had not yet brought his new mobile in because he wanted to drive the Headteacher to surrender to his need for one first. It was almost like a little challenge between the two. Seto hadn't noticed her, and she didn't bother to make herself known. He was obviously busy, and they'd have plenty of time later. She walked up to the small desk.
"Hi." She said to the receptionist who looked at her and sighed.
"You'll be wanting the Lost Property Box, won't you?" She asked resignedly as Anna nodded. "Hold on." She disappeared into a back room, leaving Anna to stand and wait.
On the other side of the room, Seto was getting quite exasperated. "Yes, I know… Don't you think I know that? Idiot… Well, we should do the same to him… I know that! It's just... Oh, never mind. Fine. Yes. I know. Yes. No, I'm not happy about it, but what do you suggest I do? No, I didn't think so." He hung up violently, cursing into what he thought was an empty room. "Damn." He muttered.
"You know," Anna said, scaring him. "Flitwick says that if you're not happy with something, you have to strive to change it."
"'Flitwick' is talking from his rear end." Seto snorted, recovering quickly. "Just who is Flitwick anyway?"
"Oh, the Shrink." Anna explained. "I just think he looks like Flitwick from the Harry Potter books."
Seto smirked to himself. Mokuba had rented all three of those movies, and guiltied his older brother into watching them with him. And now that Seto thought about it… The half-smile faded as quickly as it had come as his mind recalled the telephone call he'd had a moment ago.
"So, what was that all about?" She asked. "You sounded harassed. You didn't fire anyone, did you?" Of course, somewhere inside, she knew what was going to happen. But she didn't want it to. Just then, the secretary returned with the box, and, to Anna's relief, Yugi's present had been handed in after all. When she turned around, Seto had already left.
She caught up with him out on the by-now deserted playground, and for a second they stood in silence.
"You can't come tonight." She said, matter-of-factly, but unable to keep a touch of disappointment out of her voice. Seto's eyes flashed angrily.
"He's put the meeting back on." He said in severe annoyance. "He's just playing with me, trying to suss out how desperate I am to get this deal…" He clenched his fists. "And what's even more annoying is that I am desperate, and he knows it…"
"You'd better go, Seto." She sighed resignedly. "This is really important for you. Besides, wasn't this the one you missed before because of me? I couldn't do that again…"
Seto said nothing, but he wanted to. It wasn't her fault he had screwed it up last time. He should have been able to keep his worries under control…
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Seto was not up to his usual standards. He was distracted, looking out the window at the rain that was still coming down. He knew Azreal was out there somewhere, for she hadn't been at the Mansion that morning. Mokuba had mentioned someone named Anna Mitsan, and Seto couldn't imagine who else it would be if not Azreal, but he hadn't caught anything but the name. He wondered where Azreal had gone. Time was ticking away, she said herself that she couldn't stay away that long. He hoped she'd come back. She was probably mad at him for the night before. Seto shuffled uncomfortably. Guilt was not a feeling he was used to.
He should go and look for her.
But this was a very, very, important meeting. He just needed this contract, this deal to be done. He could sell Kaiba Corp. products in America. And once you get America and Canada, you can get Britain. Then Europe. Then you're pretty much world-wide.
He couldn't blow this off.
The Meeting could drag on forever. Azreal would die.
Which would be her fault.
But then she just wouldn't exist anymore. He was supposed to help her, after all.
Seto groaned mentally. He was becoming way too nice. Next thing you knew, he'd be handing out flowers and twittering on about rainbows and friendship. He stood.
"Mr Kaiba, I think you'll find our offer is perfectly reasonable." The American said, with a barely veiled threat. "We want Duel Monsters-related produce for sale overseas. And if you won't sell, we'll have to go somewhere else." Seto continued to the door, his heart sinking.
"Give it to someone who wants it. Try Devlin and his poxy dice game. I'm sure he'll accept."
He was weeping inside.
Later, Seto wouldn't believe what he had done. Not only had he refused the best offer he was ever likely to get, he'd offered it to Devlin on a plate.
Waaaaaaaaaaay too nice.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-End Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
They stood there for a moment more, slightly enjoying being closer to each other then usual, silently discontent at the fact that moments like these were so rare.
"I'm going to have to go into the office and talk to my marketing directors." Seto sighed eventually. "And I'll probably have to go straight from the office to the restaurant. Which means I'll have to phone Susan again…" He sighed in irritation.
"Susan?" Azreal asked.
"Yeah." Seto replied. "A, what does she call herself? Child minder. Mokuba's school is seriously over-protective and they can't leave school on their own. And with Social Services on my back all the time, I can't leave Mokuba on his own for more then five minutes without them trying to put him into care, no matter how capable he is." He pulled a face, clearly showing exactly what he thought of Social Services.
"I take it Mokuba doesn't like this 'Susan' person much…?" She ventured. Seto snorted.
"Understatement, and I don't blame him. She charges and extortionate amount of money for sitting in our living room and watching satellite Television." He got angrier as he spoke. "She's making a living from us, and she knows she can get away with murder because I can't find anyone else who'll 'watch' Mokuba when he's a so-called liability."
Anna said nothing. Considering the number of times the younger Kaiba had been kidnapped, she didn't blame the Child Minders one bit. She had to admit she found Mokuba a little scary- he obviously didn't trust her, and when she had to stay in a room with him, or talk to him, he seemed so hostile… It didn't help that she was so nervous around him, either. She wondered if this was how most people felt when they had to meet their partner's parents. It was then that she made a decision that even surprised her.
"I'll pick him up if you like." She offered. Seto looked at her as though she had gone mad. She shrugged. "I have no other plans, and I won't charge you anything- except maybe a quick call to my dad when I get to your house."
"Are you sure?" Seto wavered. "I mean, Mokuba doesn't exactly-"
"I know." She sighed nervously. "But I'll have to make my peace with him eventually, and besides, from the sounds of things, he'd rather have me then this Susan…"
Seto looked at her, slightly uncertainly, but saw that she was determined to do this. And he nodded his agreement.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
A/N: Okay, so well done if you made it all the way down here! Will Az and Mokuba sort out their differences? Will Seto be able to redeem himself with the American business? What will Az do when the Social Workers come a-knocking? And, most importantly, what did she get Yugi for his birthday? Join me as soon as I manage to get it written for the third instalment in the second fic to AfI!
