Chapter Four

'So should we go out for some Korean BBQ,' Alisa asked as they closed the shop for the day.

'If it's your treat, I am in. You still owe me for last week,' Risa finished locking the door.

'I said I was sorry, who'd have thought that I would end up passing out,' she told her as she hugged Risa's arm. 'Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?'

'Pay for dinner,' Risa told her.

'Okay,' she nodded and they strolled down the side walk.

'So,' Risa looked down at her happy go lucky friend, 'changing topic. How are things going between you and Lover Boy.'

'Me and Lover Boy?'

'Yes, tall, dark hair, purple gray hues and handsome,' Risa described Mokuba, whom alway stopped by to see Alisa when she was away at lunch.

'Mokuba is not my Lover Boy, we are just friends. Plus, I was already told not to get involved with him like that,' she recalled her encounter with Seto.

'That shouldn't stop love from blossoming and who told you not to get together?'

'Someone who thinks that he is just looking out for his little brother,' she released Risa as they arrived at a stop light.

'Why? He thinks you're not good enough for him? If so, I'll go and tell him a thing or two,' Risa said as she hit her right fist into her left hand.

'It's his little brother, even I would have concerns if an older woman was hanging around him.'

'You're not that much older, are you?'

'Um,' she did some thinking, 'I am not sure how different our ages are, I just know that I am the same age as his older brother.'

'So you know the older brother,' they had crossed the street and were a couple more blocks away from the local Korean BBQ restaurant.

'We went to school together,' she replied.

'And you two had an epic romance, now he wants to protect his little brother from a lecherous older woman. Who has been so deprived of her sexual desires for so long that she might taint or break his poor little brother,' Risa boldly stated.

'Heavens no, me date him? I don't think so, and quit reading too many ero-books. I am not a pervert that has been deprived or about to pounce an innocent lamb.' She exasperated at Risa's outrageous claim.

'So you want an experience alpha male,' Risa asked her as she recalled the older male that had come to see her once and had gone upstairs to talk with her. 'Like that guy that came to visit you when you passed out.'

Alisa stumbled forward as she almost tripped over her feet, 'I already said that I wouldn't date Mokuba or him. Defiantly not him,' Alisa became disturbed at the fact that she was constantly getting paired together with Seto. It wasn't as if they were even compatible, they were so different and even if he seemed more controlled than before she still had her reservations.

'Maybe it's destiny,' they arrived at the restaurant and it was packed.

'Destiny my butt,' she said as she took the buzzard from the female at the counter, thanked her and turned so they could make their way to the bar.

'Think about it, Mokuba's older brother remembered you and he's rekindled feelings for you. He came to stop you from dating his brother not because he's worried you're old, but because he wants you for himself,' Risa continued to write her own disturbing romance novel about them.

Alisa felt a cold chill run down her spine as Risa continued sprouting non-sense. 'Please stop, I am going to be sick,' she mumbled.

'Speak of the devil and here he comes,' Risa whispered as she spotted Mokuba and his older brother. 'Should we say hi?'

'Let's not,' she muttered, but she didn't understand why Risa even asked considering she just went ahead and did it anyways.

'Mokuba, Mokuba's older brother,' she called the two as they walked in to get their attention.

'Don't,' Alisa hissed under her breathe, she didn't want to face Kaiba. Every time she was with him she felt like she was being scrutinized.

'Risa,' Mokuba spotted the blonde first and then Alisa who was hiding behind her, 'Alisa, what are you two doing here?'

'We're here for dinner,' Risa answered cheerfully, 'a company dinner.'

'It's not funny when you say that,' Alisa muttered as she poked Risa in the back.

Risa ignored her, 'Do you guys want to join us? We're waiting for a table, we should be called soon,' she offered.

Mokuba looked over at his brother, they weren't really there for business or anything and having two beautiful women at their side wouldn't be bad. In fact, it would liven up their dinner. 'They can join us,' Seto told him.

'We have a private room reserved,' Mokuba turned to look at them happily. 'Please feel free to join us.'

Risa bounced off the bar chair to show that she was happy about taking them up on their offer. 'Great, come on,' she grabbed Alisa who hadn't really said much and was acting shy. Maybe her refusal was because she was subconscious of her feelings for the taller male. Aww, poor Mokuba how was she supposed to make it up to him. She should probably set him up with her younger sister, who was around his age since if she went after him, his older brother might get upset.

Alisa reluctantly gave up the buzzard for their table and followed after everyone. 'Are you alright,' Mokuba had fallen back and began to walk alongside her.

She had been spacing off and was a little startled by him, 'Oh,' she jumped slightly, 'yes. I just don't want to intrude on you and your brother.'

'Nonsense, my brother and I would enjoy the company,' Mokuba tried to ease her worry. Of course, he would be happy to share a meal with her, he couldn't share her lunch break because it was always so late he had meetings to attend too at that time.

'If you're sure,' she still felt like they were imposing, she looked away from Mokuba to sneak a glance at Kaiba and frilled when she noticed that he was looking down at her. One thing that she hated was getting looked down at and more so by someone that though she wasn't worthy of his brother. She was worthy of anyone that she pursued, but she looked over at Mokuba and frowned. He was a friend, she couldn't just try to seduce him because Kaiba was against it. She should just continue as she was, after all she wasn't looking for love.

There was rustling as one of the private sections opened and a small boy of about four stumbled out. As he caught himself on the wall beside him he looked up at the four adults walking by and stared up at her with wide blue hues. 'Alisa,' he cried happily as he recognized her and ran towards her.

She looked down at the little man that wrapped his arms around her legs and hugged her. He had large bright blue hues, an adorable chubby face, and two toned hair, red bangs like his father and light brown hair like his mother. He was still growing at four so he only reached about her thighs, besides looking like a mini version of his father, he had no facial characteristics that made him stand out. 'Kai, hello,' she reached down and picked him up. 'How have you been? You've gotten so cute,' she couldn't help but love him.

'Good,' he wrapped his little arms around her and pulled her close, before pulling back and kiss her lips lightly.

'Kai,' his mother called out as she stepped out and found him in the arms of her petit friend. 'Alisa,' she greeted her and then noticed all the people that she was surround by. 'Mokuba, Seto, Risa, it's a surprise to see you guys.'

'Téa,' as soon as Alisa heard the voice from behind Téa, her heart began to start pounding. If there was anyone that could get her heart pumping it was him.

'Yugi,' Seto recognized the short, but muscular male as he came out behind his wife.

Yugi looked around him, 'Guys, hi, it's been so long,' he cheerfully greeted his friends. 'Are you just getting here?'

'Yes,' Seto answered.

'You'll love this place the food is great,' he looked at the brothers and then at Alisa and Risa. 'I didn't know you guys knew each other.'

'We got to know each other because their shop is so close to the company,' Mokuba told him.

'That's great, maybe next time we can have a huge dinner party all together. We can invite our other friends,' Yugi suggested.

'That sounds like a good idea, it's been so long since we all went out,' Risa agreed with his suggestion. 'It would be great to see the rest of the gang,' in fact she only had one person of interest. Even though they usually bucked heads when they got together, being with him was the highlight of her evening. Since it appeared that he was currently single, now was her chance to seduce him. She just never had the opportunity to see him besides being Alisa's plus one at gatherings, but know that she was also a friend of theirs it was different. 'Don't you think that it's a good idea, Alisa?'

Mokuba looked at the silent female beside him, whom seemed to have lost her chipper spirit and become more shy and timid. It was a side of her that he hadn't seen, since she was either happy or aloof. When she had seen the bold young boy in her arms she had been cheerful, but fearful. She had kept looking at the door that he had stumbled out of, when she had seen Téa it had been almost as if she had relaxed until she saw Yugi. She had avoided Yugi, but not for fear of him but maybe because she liked him. She liked him as more than a friend, but was reserved because of his wife and child. He shook his head, he was looking too much into the situation, 'Yeah, you should come,' Kai told her. 'I can show every one my girlfriend.'

'That's right, you shouldn't leave an invitation from you boyfriend and future in-laws go to waste,' Risa teased her.

'That's not funny, but if I have time I'll come,' she looked at Téa and then Yugi with a small smile.

'Make time,' Kai ordered her, 'I miss you.'

He hugged her and she patted his back, 'I missed you too, next time we have time we'll come over.'

'Okay,' he pulled back and beamed at her happily.

'Kai, it's time for us to go,' Yugi stepped forward and reached out for his young son, who was determined to stay with Alisa. 'We can see each other soon.'

'Promise,' he looked at the person that was most likely to bail on the promise.

'I promise to try,' Alisa told him and he agreed by giving her another quick kiss on the lips, before returning to his father that looked at Alisa apologetic for his son's bold behavior.

'It was nice seeing you all again,' Téa expressed as she finished getting Seto's and Mokuba's contact information. 'Hopefully, we can all get together soon. Having all our friends together would be a lot of fun and we can catch up.'

'Téa's right, I look forward to seeing everyone soon,' Yugi beamed at his friends with Kai in his arms.

'It'll be fun,' Risa nodded and squeezed Mokuba's arm, somehow everyones position had changed and now she was beside him.

'Yeah, Joey is always a character and it would be fun to see what he's been up to, as well as everyone else,' Mokuba recalled Yugi's blond best friend.

'We're like soulmates,' Risa hooked her's around Mokuba's. 'Joey is always up to something and never boring.'

'If you're referring to the fact that he's an idiot that doesn't think before doing anything stupid? I agree he is entertaining,' Seto recalled the blond annoyance.

Alisa grabbed the back on his jacket and pulled on it to stop him from saying anything else. They finished saying their good-byes to the Mutous and continued to their room. Risa had decided to seat beside Mokuba with the excuse that she was seating in the order they arrived. It left Alisa beside Seto and in front of Risa. It would have been easier to seat besides either of the other two than Seto. Since Risa kept stealing Mokuba's attention and leaving her and Seto to their own awkward silence, she tended to the bbq.

'So how do you know Yugi,' Seto suddenly decided to break their icy silence.

'I went to high school with him, but we were never in any classes together,' she said as she placed a piece of meat on his plate and took one for herself and told the others it was ready. 'Plus, he helped me with my research.'

Seto was surprised by the kind gesture, but noticed that Risa did the same for Mokuba who was sitting beside her. 'You're manager asked me if I was helping you with research too, last time we met.'

'You guys met before,' Mokuba, who was watching them out of the corner of his eye and listening to them while talking to Risa, asked.

Alisa knew it wouldn't be a good idea to out his brother, it would be building a rift between them that would be unnecessary. She looked down at Seto and noticed his tight hold on his chopsticks, so she nudged his knee with her's lightly before answering Mokuba. 'He came to greet me after he realized that I was an old high school friend. Plus, he stops by the shop to get his weekly Duel Monsters and WIRED magazines,' she answered half honestly and lightly kicking Risa to back her up.

'That's right, I am always there to make sure that Alisa doesn't cause any trouble for your brother,' she happily helped, both Alisa and Seto were surprised by her acting skills.

'You two were in high school together,' Mokuba became interested in this new development.

'Correct, we were in the same class senior year,' she told him as she made a wrap. 'He was way too serious and reserved.'

Seto was about to protest when she shoved the wrap she made into his mouth. 'In addition, he was always obsessed with Duel Monsters and being the best.'

'That sounds like Seto,' Mokuba pointed out, 'he hasn't changed much since.'

'I can tell,' Alisa smiled at him and watched as Risa fed him a wrap, mirroring her actions with Seto.

Seto took a drink of water after eating her wrap filled with too much garlic, it was probably his penalty for her covering for him. However, he didn't take too kindly to her opinion about him. So they were in the same class senior year, he looked at her and tried to place her face, but it was impossible. He didn't recall anyone that wore sweats or had an out going personality such as hers. He wanted to tell her that she was lying and that they never had a class together, but she constantly said they did and if he said otherwise he would have to explain to his brother the real reason. 'I am glad that I am memorable enough for you to remember me.'

'Don't think too much of it,' Alisa knocked him down or at least stopped him from thinking that he was all that enough to remember. 'I only remember you because you were always at odds with the person I used to like. So basically, you were a memorable NPC.'

There was a reason that he was against her, she managed to rub him the wrong way every time they met. He was no NPC, if anything, he was the male protagonist. 'I am not an NPC.'

Alisa could see the small twitch begin at the corner of his eye, that let on that he was beginning to get irritated. 'Right, that would be too small a role for you. Probably more like the male lead's side kick.'

'I am not the side kick,' he didn't let other outshine him. He was too smart and too handsome to be put in the background.

'My brother is more like the hero of the story or game,' Mokuba told her.

'It's so cute how you defend your brother, but I don't think that he's a hero, sidekick or NPC. He seems more like the villain of the story,' Risa could see that Alisa was having fun torturing the older brother, who looked like he would lose it at any moment if she continued.

'But with age his villainous strike seems to have simmered down, so I wouldn't go as far as to call him a villain and the hero is out of the question,' Alisa looked up at Seto, who looked on the verge of throwing a hissy fit. His eye was spasming even more and his mouth had formed into a thin line as his jaw clenched down.

'The male leads don't have to be the hero, they just have to be the one to get the girl,' Risa commented as she build her own wrap with too much meat and popped it into her mouth.

Three sets of eyes looked at her as if she was crazy, where in the world did she hear that the male lead didn't have to be the hero and get the girl. The girl only belonged to the hero and if the hero didn't get the girl that was intended for him, then what did that make him. Yugi had been her hero, but he had ended up with another. His bond with Téa was too strong to break or even come between. She had spent enough time with him to forge a bond, but when she got the courage to confess, she had been too late. In addition, he had been so in love with Téa that she had just ended up drifting into the background. She was a friend and nothing more, a companion he met along his quest.

Suddenly she felt her fingers begin to twitch as a new story began to unfold in her mind. She'd have to draw up a draft and story outline to send it to Yu, but it might be interesting enough to get a green light. 'It could also be that that wasn't his story and he was just visiting. My brother is the lead that no one outshines,' Mokuba defended.

He was so cute, Risa thought, but if he continued to think that way he would get out shined himself. If she was right, and she was, his main target was the idiot beside his brother that was suddenly dazed and lost in her own little world. It was a look that she knew far too well and their queue to leave, since it would be another all nighter for the petite female as she let her imagination run wild. As she was about to say something, Alisa got up, 'It was a pleasure eating with you guys,' she announced. 'However, something suddenly came up and I have to go home. Please, feel free to finish and enjoy the rest of the meal,' before anyone could say anything or protest she left with a swish of the wind following behind her.

The curtain swung back and forth as it slowly began to settle, 'Well, that was a surprise. She could have at least waited for me,' Risa announced to the silent room, the brothers were still processing the sudden departure. What had gotten into her and why did she have to leave in the middle of dinner?

'She just,' Mokuba tried to process what had just happened. Had he upset her with his words.

'It's normal for her,' Risa told him as she watched the meat on the grill and grabbed a piece to give to his older brother and then him, before taking her own piece.

Seto looked at the carefree female and then the piece of meat on his plate, they gave it to him as a conditioned response. He had found it odd when Ms. Sweats gave him the first piece earlier and Risa one to his brother. Both of them were odd, but at least the blond was less annoying, he looked at the empty seat beside him before resuming his dinner. If she claimed that her reaction was normal then there was nothing else to say, just wish and hope that his brother infatuation with the strange girl would come to an end. She was like a horrible migraine that wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he tried to ease the pain with medicine and meditation.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

'Leaving me the other day wasn't cool,' Risa reprimanded Alisa as she cleaned the counters and Alisa dusted the shelves.

'Sorry, but I was hit with a sudden wave of inspiration that I couldn't just sit around and wait to get home,' Alisa smiled down at her from her place on one of the step stools, it was her turn to dust all the bookshelves from top to bottom.

'Humph, but leaving me with Lover Boy and your Honey was awkward,' Risa continued.

'I told you that I am not interested in either one of them,' she focused on the work before her.

'Right, but it wasn't like you weren't enjoying herself teasing Mokuba's brother,' Risa washed her hands before she began to stock the cups and lids.

'I enjoyed it because he is a jerk,' Alisa grumbled.

'I was surprised that you were even willing to touch him with Yugi present. You even claimed that you were once in love with him. Does this mean that your crush on him is over and you're finally ready to move on from the hero?'

Alisa almost lost her balance on the stool and had to grab on to the shelf in front of her. Risa was spouting so much nonsense lately that it was beginning to take a toll on her. 'I've moved on, I think,' she tried to remember their encounter with Yugi and how she felt for him. Before her heart would pound out of control at his close proximity, but also contract at the sudden realization that no matter how much she cared for him she couldn't have him. Her face would get so red as the blood rushed to her head and made her feel a little light headed. Yet when she saw him at the restaurant, her heart had pounded and she had been a little shy, but it wasn't like before where she found it hard to breathe. In fact, maybe her crush on him had eased but hadn't been completely disappeared. After all it was still too early to say that she was over it when she still felt flutters in her stomach at the anticipation of his appearance. 'It's still to be determined.'

'Why, because you are still coming to terms with the idea that you might like the frigid male protagonist.'

'More like shrewd and frigid NPC,' she corrected, 'and no, I don't like him. But with the way you are so hung up on him, I would think that you feel something for him.'

Risa bursted out laughing at Alisa's claim, 'Sorry, but I am not going to take someone that doesn't belong to me. However, I will advise you to make things clear with Lover Boy, otherwise you'll hurt his feelings more than you'll want too.'

'I will have nothing to do with Kaiba and I'll talk to Mokuba, but he hasn't said or done anything to imply that he is interested in me,' she said as she climbed down the stool to move on to the next section.

'Right,' Risa nodded sarcastically, it was so apparent that the young man liked her. Otherwise, who in their right mind would come and eat lunch at an empty bookstore with a plain Jane. Who failed at sexual appeal, but oozed charm from her outgoing and friendly personality. It was something to be jealous of the wallflower that hid among the overgrown weeds to conceal herself and her heart.

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A/N: As always I hope that you all are enjoying the story so far and as promised please enjoy the next chapter.