Chapter 2
As Alex walked leisurely, opting not to take the bus, she was absorbed in her thoughts although she was observant enough not to accidentally bump into someone. She went over what happened at school, and most of it was what she expected. However, she definitely didn't expect Kaiba to confront her. She wondered why he would claim that he knows her until a thought suddenly hit her.
Impossible, but does he know about my mission? Have I already been compromised?
Alex didn't want to consider the possibility, but she had to. She decided that she needed to get back to her apartment as soon as possible and contact Cas. If there was a mole within the organization that she worked for, Alex needed to know and if necessary, she would have to be pulled out of her mission right away.
Just as Alex made this conclusion and began to hurry towards the nearest bus stop, she suddenly heard a noise from a nearby alley. Curiously, Alex turned towards the noise and decided to investigate, making sure not to be noticed. Once Alex got close enough to the source of the noise, she witnessed a heated exchange between a group of burly, muscular teenage boys and a kid with long black hair and purple eyes. Alex recognized the boy, but she made no move yet, curious to see why these guys were ganging up on him. The leader of the gang said,
"Come with us quietly and you won't be harmed."
The boy yelled, "If you know who I am, then you know you're already in big trouble. Big brother will save me."
The leader laughed and replied, "He's too busy running his company to help his little runt brother."
The boy clenched his fists, looking ready to defend himself. Alex observed that the boy had no bodyguards or any other line of defense, which she thought was weird. The leader laughed again and added,
"Looks like he won't cooperate. Let's beat him up."
As the leader and his lackeys were about to move in on the boy, Alex felt anger surging within her. Although she would normally have thought things through, she knew there was no time to come up with a plan. So she whistled loudly and yelled,
"Hey, boys! Isn't it cowardly to gang up on someone like that?"
The leader looked at Alex with lust in his eyes and said, "Well, well. Change of plan. I'd rather have this one. What do you say, boys? You can all have a turn at her after I'm done."
His lackeys chuckled in excitement, and Alex looked frightened. She appeared scared of what this gang would do to her just for interfering. The gang saw the fear written all over her face and approached her, like wolves approaching a lone sheep. When the gang was within touching distance, Alex's face suddenly turned fierce and she raised her fists, swiftly beating up one guy after the other.
Meanwhile, the boy looked on in amazement as he watched Alex beat up the guys who had threatened him and had just threatened her. He wondered,
Who is she?
Alex continued to beat up one guy after the other, saving her most brutal attacks for the leader. Once she was finished, the leader and his lackeys were groaning in pain. Smirking, Alex said,
"If I were you, I'd run and not look back. Oh, and before you threaten me or anyone else like you just did, it's no exaggeration that I took it easy on you this time. I won't be so kind next time."
The leader and his lackeys only groaned in pain, but they slowly got up and then began retreating from the alley. The leader gave Alex one dirty look before he and his gang disappeared into the shadows.
Once Alex and the boy were alone, Alex turned towards him and asked,
"You ok?"
The boy nodded and replied, "Yeah. Thanks for the help."
Alex smiled and replied, "No problem. I can't stand idiots like that. How about we go get some ice cream or something? I noticed an ice cream shop on the way. If you don't have anywhere you need to be right now, of course."
The boy grinned and replied, "I'd like that."
Alex waited until the boy was beside her and then the two walked out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk, where there were more people. They headed towards the ice cream shop and went inside. As patrons could sit wherever they wanted, Alex pointed to a corner booth and asked if that was ok. The boy nodded, and the two of them walked towards it and sat down. A waitress then came shortly after, placing two glasses of water on the table. Then she took their orders and left.
After the waitress left, Alex quickly looked around the shop and noticed that most of the other patrons were staring at them. She felt a bit weirded out by that and turning to the boy, she asked,
"Is it that weird for people here to see an American? You might have been able to tell."
The boy shook his head and replied, "Nah, that's not it. They were probably staring at me."
Alex asked, "Why?" Although she, most likely, already knew the answer, it was still natural to ask.
The boy replied, "I'm Mokuba. Mokuba Kaiba."
Alex nodded and replied, "I see. It's nice to meet you, Mokuba, although I wish it was under better circumstances. I'm Alex. My full name is Alexandra Lawrence, but I prefer to be called Alex."
Mokuba grinned and replied, "Happy to meet you. Thanks for saving me back there. You were amazing."
Alex smiled and replied, "That was nothing, and those idiots had it coming."
The waitress returned, placing an ice cream sundae for Mokuba and a fruit parfait for Alex. After the waitress left, Mokuba said,
"Still. Those moves you pulled. I've never seen anything like that."
Alex blushed a bit in embarrassment. As an agent, she had been trained in a lot of skills, and fighting off creeps was definitely one of them. Alex simply replied,
"You know, I took a lot of fighting classes back in America. I prefer not to solve problems that way, but it happens."
Mokuba nodded and took a spoonful of his ice cream while Alex took a spoonful of her parfait. Alex commented,
"After that craziness, sweets are definitely in order."
Mokuba laughed and replied, "Yeah, yeah." He looked at her uniform and then asked, "Alex, you go to Domino High?"
Alex nodded and replied, "Today was my first day. I'm an exchange student."
Mokuba replied, "I see. My brother also goes there. You've probably seen him."
Alex smiled weakly and thought,
Yup, and talked to him, and punched him in the gut.
Mokuba then added, "After we finish eating, let's drop by Kaiba Corp. Seto will want to thank you for helping me."
Alex shook her head and replied, "I don't wish to trouble him, and besides, he and I got off to a rough start."
Mokuba looked confused and replied, "What do you mean?"
Alex told Mokuba about how Kaiba had confronted her at school and then refused to let her leave. She then added,
"I'm sorry about punching him. I would have preferred not to do so, but he was being relentless and I got a little creeped out."
Alex thought it might be a good idea to try to get Mokuba on her side, so she told him what happened earlier that day. After Alex finished, Mokuba nodded and replied,
"I understand. Still, you should come with me and I'll explain things to Seto."
Alex was about to protest again when Mokuba gave her a sad, pleading look. She couldn't help but think,
He reminds me of Andy.
Relenting, Alex nodded and replied, "Ok, but just to make sure you get there safe and I won't stay long. I should get back to my apartment and do some homework, among other things."
Mokuba grinned and replied, "Ok."
Alex and Mokuba finished up their desserts, and then Alex went ahead and paid for them. Afterwards, the two of them left the ice cream shop and went back outside. The sidewalks were getting slightly more crowded, so Mokuba reached out to hold Alex's left hand and said,
"Just so we don't lose each other."
Alex smiled and replied, "Of course."
The two of them walked the sidewalks, heading towards Kaiba Corp. Alex and Mokuba chatted a bit about trivial things, and Alex told Mokuba about how she made friends with Joey and the others. A little after, they arrived at the entrance to Kaiba Corp. headquarters. Mokuba kept hold of Alex's hand and led the way inside. Alex looked around in fascination as she followed him. She wouldn't be interning here for another month, according to Cas, but she wanted to get familiar with the surroundings. They entered an elevator and went up to the top floor, where Kaiba's personal office was. Once they arrived, Mokuba looked at the secretary at the front desk and asked her if Kaiba was busy. The secretary shook her head and replied that he was free, so Mokuba could go in. She looked at Alex and asked,
"Sir, who is this young lady?"
Mokuba smiled and replied, "She's my friend. She's with me."
The secretary nodded and then Mokuba and Alex went on ahead, finally arriving in front of a pair of double doors. Mokuba knocked lightly and said,
"Seto, it's me. Can I come in?"
From inside the office, Kaiba replied, "It's fine."
Mokuba then opened the double doors with his free hand and led the way inside. Alex was hesitant but seeing how Mokuba still had a grip on her hand, she had no choice but to follow him. Once they were inside, Kaiba was finishing up some work at his desk and then he looked up. Immediately, he saw Mokuba and Alex, and worse, they were holding hands. Scowling, he asked,
"What is she doing here?"
Alex sighed inwardly, thinking that this really was a bad idea. Mokuba replied,
"Um, yeah. This is Alex, and I know you already know her, Seto. She helped me out, so I thought I'd bring her here. Maybe you want to thank her?"
Kaiba glared at Alex and asked, "Why, exactly?"
Mokuba gave Alex an apologetic look and turning back to Kaiba, he replied,
"Alex saved my life."
He then told Kaiba all about what happened back in the alley and how Alex had even treated him to dessert afterwards. All the while, Kaiba continued to glare at Alex, as though he didn't trust her or thought she had ulterior motives. Once Mokuba was finished, he added,
"I know what happened earlier at school, Seto. But to be fair, you did scare her on her first day and that wasn't right. You should apologize."
Kaiba didn't like how Mokuba was taking Alex's side and replied, "I see no reason. She's a part of the geek squad." It was as though that explanation was enough justification.
Mokuba was about to retort when Alex turned to him and said, "Mokuba, it's ok. I think your brother is just concerned about you. If I were him, I would be, too."
She then turned to Kaiba and sweetly added, "I apologize for any trouble I've caused. I'll be leaving."
As she was about to leave the office, Mokuba didn't let go of her hand and said, "Wait, sis."
Alex froze as Mokuba called her "sis."
Why did he say that? Only Andy ever called me sis.
Alex turned to Mokuba with a sad look in her eyes. Mokuba wasn't sure what to make of it and added,
"Sorry. That was inappropriate."
Alex shook her head and replied, "It's ok. I was just surprised. That's all."
Mokuba replied, "At least, let me walk you to the bus station and make sure you get on the bus. You probably have to take the bus back, right? I mean, I'd offer you a ride, but I doubt Seto would like that."
As if in confirmation, Seto just scowled. It was like his scowl increased in intensity after hearing Mokuba call Alex "sis." Alex replied,
"I'd prefer to take the bus, anyway. And yeah, I have to get back to my apartment. I have a lot of things to do, and I have to call my guardian tonight. She wants to make sure that I'm ok and all that."
Mokuba nodded and turning to Kaiba, he said,
"I'll be back in a bit."
He then led Alex out of the office and down the elevator to the first floor. Then they went outside to a nearby bus stop and Mokuba apologized for Kaiba's behavior although Alex simply waved her free hand and said it was ok. Once the bus arrived (Mokuba having let go of Alex's hand by this point) and Alex was on it, Mokuba waved goodbye and Alex walked back. Mokuba then returned to Kaiba Corp and went up the elevator to Kaiba's office. Once inside, Mokuba glared at Kaiba and asked,
"Seto, why were you so rude to Alex?"
Kaiba put down the work he had been doing and looking calmly at Mokuba, he replied, "Mokuba, you need to stay away from her."
Mokuba looked confused and replied, "Why? I don't understand. Alex saved me from being kidnapped. She even treated me-"
Kaiba interrupted, "Because she plans to kill me."