Chapter Twelve

Kaiba opened his eyes, the mid-afternoon sun was bright on his face and caused him to open and close his eyes as they adjusted to the light. He could hear the annoying footstep of people walking up and down the school corridor as well as their never-ending chattering. He had spent all night working on a prototype for their new gaming system and all he wanted to do was rest. If it wasn't for the fact that they were in exam week, he would have called out and just stayed home. 'Hey, they just put up the results for the exam,' he heard a classmate call to his friend out in the hall. 'Let's go see how we did.'

'Why, it's always a pain to see that we're always somewhere in the middle,' he heard his friend groan.

'Yeah, but I still want to see if I moved up a rank or not,' their voices faded as they went further down the hall.

Kaiba got up out of his chair and stretched his sore body, he shouldn't have fallen asleep hunched over on his desk. He looked around the empty room and decided to go and see how he faired but considering how smart he was his rank would be still number one. He slid open the door with one hand as he covered his hand with the other, stifling a yawn. He should probably skip next period since they were just going to get back their exams and get praised or reprimanded. He walked down the hall, took the stairs down to the main third year floor and headed in the direction of all his peers. As people noticed him, he noted that they began to whisper and snicker at something related to him. Did he have something on his face, he wondered as he unconsciously wipes at his mouth for signs of drool. As he neared the large gathering of students, he heard an obnoxious cheer, 'Lydia, this is great! You finally did it and ranked first. I am so proud of you!'

'What,' Kaiba asked as he pushed through the swarm of students to get to the front and check the results for himself. There was no way that someone had beaten him, he pushed the girl blocking his path, 'Hey,' he heard a cry, but not from the girl he had pushed, which he ignored and looked up at the board where the results were posted.

There was no mistaking it, his name was printed beside the number two and above his name was the name of Lydia Walters printed in the number one slot. This was, he shifted his gaze from the names and to the points. By half of a point, he was knocked down from his number one position. 'Hn,' he took off, not realizing that he was being chased after.

'Hey, you Jerk,' he was walking down the hall to the exit, he needed some fresh air.

'Hey, I am talking to you,' the voice he had heard in the hallway repeated. He shifted his gaze to see if there was anyone else around and found the courtyard empty except for himself and the female behind him.

'You surely can't be talking to me,' he came to a stop beneath a giant oak tree.

'Why, not? You're the only insensitive jerk I see here that pushes people out of his way without apologizing,' Kaiba turned to see the nuisance that had followed behind him. Standing before him was a pipsqueak with twin braids down her back, a scowl on her face, arms crossed before her and in a stance solid. If she was trying to be intimidating it wasn't working, considering he towered over her by eight or so inches.

'Why should I, she was in the way,' if he recalled the girl, he pushed out of the way before had light brown hair that was medium length.

'Hmph, seems like having all the money in the world still can't buy you any manners,' she stated before she got a wicked smile on her face as she thought of something. 'Must be why second place is so suiting for someone like you. First Yugi and now Lydia, hope Kaiba Corp. doesn't suffer from having a first-place loser as its CEO.'

'What did you say,' Kaiba growled as he leaned towards her, 'couldn't quite hear you, since you're so close to the ground.'

He could see the girl quiver in anger at his height reference. 'I'll have you know that I am average height,' she reached out a small hand and placed it on his face pushing him away, 'and get out of my face.'

Kaiba couldn't believe that she touched him and continued to stare him down, even if she was short. 'If you're expecting me to apologize, I won't. So, you best be on your way,' he shushed her away, he wasn't in the mood to fight with little kids.

'Right, I shouldn't be wasting my time with second rate duelist or intellectuals,' the girl told him as she flipped one of her long braids over her shoulder and began to leave. 'Just know that you won't always run into nice benevolent people. One day you're going to run into someone that going to beat manners into you.'

Let her go, let her go, his inner voice kept telling him as he reached out his hand to grab her forearm. His inner voice had been right, he should have let her leave because the next thing he knew was that he was sent flying over her shoulder on to the grassy ground below. 'Ugh,' he groaned in pain after he slammed into the not so soft ground.

The girl looked down at him with dark hues that held no concern for his well-being or regret for what she had just done. 'You shouldn't go around pushing or grabbing people,' she lectured him, 'because you'll never know what will happen, Seto Kaiba. Bye-bye.'

He sat up and looked after her, swearing that if he ever saw her again, he would make her regret confronting him. By the bow on her school uniform, he could tell that she was a third year as well. Unlike the other girls she didn't wear knee high socks, but black spandex shorts underneath her skirt uniform. From her sneakers he could tell that she was probably an athletic, maybe martial arts since she flipped him over her shoulder with ease. How humiliating, he laid back down and stare up at the clear blue sky above him. The sun glaring down at him since she managed to flip him away from the tree's shade, 'How annoying.'

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

Kaiba removed his arm from his eyes as he stirred from his memory, since he knew for a fact that it wasn't just a dream that he was having. 'Oh,' he heard a voice to the left of him, 'you're awake.'

Walking over to his side and leaning over slightly to hover above him was the same face from his memory. Only this face had lost its baby fat and seemed slightly thinner than a couple of weeks ago, her dark black hues looked down at him with worry as they took his features in. She wasn't wearing a uniform and thankfully not her sweats. Instead she wore khaki shorts that reached mid-thigh, a pink tank top that was tucked in accentuated her breasts and a white button up shirt that was left unbuttoned. 'Alisa,' he said his voice deep and groggy from sleep.

'Morning,' she said as she lifted her left hand to push back long dark silky strands of hair behind her ear. 'Does your Boss know you're up here ditching work and sleeping on the job?'

He watched as she reached out with that same hand and caressed his right cheek. Her thumb lightly brushing the dark bag under his eye, 'What are you doing here,' he asked enjoying the feel of her warm small hand against his skin.

'I had a delivery,' she answered, 'and figured why not stop by to see how you were doing.'

She was probably lying, 'You don't offer delivery at the store.'

'Apparently we do, but to only certain customers,' she told him with a slight smile.

'You met with Mokuba,' he was the only one that they would offer their special services too.

'Hmm,' she nodded as she took a seat beside him on the edge of the bench.

'He said that he wouldn't interfere,' Kaiba mumbled.

Alisa began to withdraw her hand, but Kaiba reached out to stop her. 'He did it because he probably couldn't stand his brother wasting away, given that he couldn't be with the woman he cared about,' she stated as she slightly teased him.

'I am like this because I've been working on a new project,' he wasn't about to admit that he was overworking himself so as not to think of her.

'Hmm,' she pouted, 'guess now that I know that you are so busy, I should head back.'

'You don't have to rush, now that you're here and that Mokuba has gone through the trouble of bringing us together it would be a waste.' His hand released hers and went to her hip, so that he could hold her in place, dare she try and runaway.

'I don't know, Risa will get mad at me for staying out too late,' Alisa told him, but made no movement to leave.

'I am sure that she's used to you abandoning your job.'

'What about you,' that jab hurt a little, but it was true she had a habit of flaking on her responsibility at the store.

'Kaiba Corp. can survive one day without me,' he explained, 'plus Mokuba can handle anything important.'

'While you sleep?'

'Now that I have company, I'm hoping to do more than sleep,' he smirked as he saw her cheeks color a pretty red.

'Like getting food,' she tried to rid herself of the dirty thoughts appearing in her head. 'It looks like you haven't been eating much. This project of yours must really be important since you're not sleeping as well.'

'How about you?'

'As a writer you know that my schedule is abnormal,' she quickly answered.

'Hn,' he was disappointed to hear that she didn't miss him as much as he missed her.

Alisa laughed after she noticed what Mokuba meant about them being perfect for each other, 'He was right.'

'Who was,' he asked annoyed that someone else was making her laugh.

'Mokuba,' she leaned forward and stopped a hair's breathe away from him.

'You know, he might be my little brother, but I still don't like that he made you laugh,' he nuzzled her nose with his.

'But only because he was referring to us,' Alisa stated, 'and how right we are for each other.'

Her black hair fell loosely around them as a curtain to keep preying eyes from watching as she closed the gap between them and placed her lips against his. The kiss was slow and sensual, drawing out both of their deep desires. 'Seto,' she whispered his name as he pulled her closer, his free hand reaching up to keep her in place, so she wouldn't run away from him.

Kaiba enjoyed the feel of her soft lips against his, the slight pressure of her body as it leaned against him building a desire for more as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. An act that brought out a low pleased moan from her, which drove away the fatigue his body was currently fighting. He didn't want the kiss to end, but she pulled away from him slightly so that she could catch her breathe. Her eyes half lidded and giving him a sultry look that told him that she wanted more. He lifted his head up to fill the gap between them, but she placed her hand between their lips before he could kiss her.

Alisa could feel her heart swell from the happiness that he desired her, but at the same time she was aware that they weren't inside, anyone could come upstairs and catch them. 'We shouldn't,' she told him, she could feel his grip on her waist tighten.

'What do you mean that we shouldn't?'

'That we shouldn't do this out here in the open, at your workplace, where anyone can walk up and see us,' she clarified, feeling his grip loosen and a sigh of relief escape him.

'I thought that you meant that we shouldn't do anything at all,' he stated as he watched her face brightened.

Alisa shook her head, 'I want you too. I just don't want to give a show or get caught up here. Plus, what would your employee's think?'

'That I am a very lucky man,' he told her and watched her face go a darker shade of red.

Alisa wasn't used to the compliments, 'Plus, you need to get to work and so do I,' she reminded him.

'I am playing hooky today and I am sure Risa already knows that you are too,' he watched as she pulled away to sit up and look down at him.

'Knowing you, you're probably right,' she agreed and turned her gaze from his, 'so how about we get you home?'

'Only if we can pick up where we left of that night and right now,' he told her enjoying her reaction.

Alisa nodded, as she tried to control her racing heart, her flushed cheeks and the flip-flopping of her stomach as she realized how much she cared for him and he wanted her. She got up off the bench and waited as he threw his legs over the side, sit up and raise to stand beside her. 'Hm,' she heard him say as he looked down at her.

'Hm, what,' she asked as she turned to face him.

'You're still as short as I remember,' he teased her, seeing if she would catch on to the fact that he finally remembered her.

'I'll have you know that I am average height for a female,' she hmphed at being called short. 'Not all of us can be skyscrapers.'

'But if I do this,' he leaned over her and reached down to lock his arms around her bottom to pull her close and lift her up, 'you can be one too.'

Alisa looked down at him and smiled, before leaning her head down to kiss him. 'The view from up here is nice,' she admitted after breaking the kiss.

'It is,' he whispered as he lowered her a little so that they were at eye level, and he could kiss her better.

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

Alisa looked up at the white ceiling, wondering how lucky and fortunate she was to be in her current situation. Kaiba was situated between her legs and his body was pressed against her as he lay on top of her. For the last five minutes she had been trying with all her might to get him off. She should have known better than to try and have intercourse with someone that was stubborn and severely sleep deprived.

During the ride to his house, she had noticed him slowly but surely start to drift off and beginning to slump against her. She was sure she had noticed the driver quirk an eyebrow when he noticed his boss leaning against her. She didn't know if it was because he was surprised at his boss's unguarded and relaxed nature or at the fact that she was with him. After they arrived at his house, she had slightly awakened the sleeping CEO and helped him out of the car. His head maid had been waiting for him and when she saw Alisa, she was astonished of her return to the mansion with her boss slumped against her, his arm over her shoulder and an unwilling desire to release her when she tried to pull away from him. The driver had been trying to help him, but he refused.

She already looked like an anomaly considering Kaiba never rode with guest in his car, let alone fell asleep next to them, and who returned to a mansion she was forced to clean. Only an idiot, that had feelings for the stubborn, egotistical, semi-charming and handsome jerk. She had tried to stop him, but in the heat of the moment she got carried away too. As soon as they got inside the mansion, he had whisked her away to his bedroom. He had been very active in trying to get her out of her clothes and his, that was probably were his small bust of adrenaline had gone, because as soon as they hit the bed and he was on top of her, he had collapsed into a deep sleep.

Now she was half undressed, pinned down and struggling to get out from underneath him. On her tenth attempt at freedom, she gave up and decided to join him, after all she was tired too. In addition, it wasn't like he was crushing her and she couldn't breathe. It felt nice to have his warmth on top of her and the slight pressure. Closing her eyes, she was guided by his light and steady breathing into a peaceful slumber of her own.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Alisa looked up at the shadow that loomed overhead, 'Well, well, well, if it isn't the delinquent and the proper.'

Standing before her and Lydia were three tall, muscular, and sloppily dressed punks, who always were starting fights or stealing from other students that were defenseless and afraid of them. 'Don't you mean the Princess and the Pauper?'

'Wow, I didn't think that you guys had an extended vocabulary,' Alisa taunted and felt as Lydia grabbed her arm and pulled her back, a sign that she should stop.

'Alisa, Alisa, Alisa, why must we always have this entanglement,' the tall blonde male with spiky hair and black tips asked her.

'Because Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan,' she mocked him, 'I refuse to be a push over for you and your buddies.'

The vein on his temple began to throb at her insolence, 'But I already told you I don't want to push you around or take your money,' he reached out and grabbed her chin. 'I want you.'

'No, thanks,' she swiped his hand away, 'I am fully content without you. Plus, can't have my reputation lowered because I am hanging out with the likes of you.'

'Alisa, that's not nice,' he told her, his voice dropping. 'You don't want to upset me.'

'Why is the poor baby gonna cry,' she provoked.

'You've given me no choice,' he nodded his head and sent his two lackeys to capture her and her friend. This was it. He was going to teach her a lesson that she would never forget.

'Ahh,' Lydia was grabbed, and she cried out in fright.

'Crap,' she cursed under her breathe. She grabbed the arm of the thug, who reached out to grab her and tossed him over her shoulder. 'Duck,' she ordered Lydia, who bowed her head as far as she could while she did a high aerial jump to do a roundhouse kick. Knocking Lydia's capture back and causing him to release her. 'Lydia, run,' she ordered.

'Not so fast,' Jonathan wrapped his arms around her, pinning hers to her side as he lifted her up in the air.

'Hey,' she cried out as she struggled to break free of his strong hold.

'You might be tough, but you are still a pipsqueak that is easily handled. Although, to be honest with you I am not into bondage,' he told her with a laugh as he felt her body go rigid against his.

'Right, but you're not getting that far,' Alisa lifted her head up to look at her savior and groaned. Out of all the people that she would have to owe a favor too. 'The Runt is mine.'

She was no ones, she thought but held her tongue to voice her discomfort at the sound of being his. 'I don't believe that the mighty Kaiba is standing up for someone like her. Guys, teach this rich Brat not to mess with us.'

Alisa watched as Kaiba fought against Jonathan's two goons and couldn't help but admire his foot work and martial arts skills. 'What is wrong with you two,' Jonathan asked as he dropped and released her. He wasn't about to let his two friends take a beating without putting up a fight himself.

She was pushed aside, no longer a concern for Jonathan as his new objective was Kaiba. It was sad to see how he didn't stand a chance against him and a minute later Jonathan was on the ground nursing his wounds like his two friends. Kaiba grabbed her bag in one hand and with the other grabbed her and dragged her away from the fallen trio. 'Kaiba, Alisa, this isn't over,' Jonathan cried out to them.

'Of course, it is,' Kaiba called back to him, 'but if you want more feel free to come find me.'

Alisa didn't say anything, she was still in shock that Kaiba would dare come to her rescue and be her knight in shining armor. After they were a few blocks away Alisa stopped following him and pulled her hand free. Kaiba turned back to look at her, 'I don't say this often and I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be saying this to you. However, I am grateful for your assistance today.'

Kaiba eyed her up and down, her hair was slightly disheveled, her uniform jacket out of place and her cheeks slightly flushed. 'Hn, knowing you, you probably provoked that giant ignoramus and his goons.'

'They started it first, and I could have gotten myself out of that anyways. Like you said, he isn't very smart, and neither are his friends,' she stated as she fixed her jacket before stepping towards him.

Kaiba didn't move back, he just watched her as she moved closer to him only to stop before him. He looked down at her with curious and condensing cobalt hues, 'Like I said, thanks,' she raised up on her toes and lifted her face up towards him, while lifting her hand and reaching up to pull a couple of leaves out of his hair.

Kaiba didn't know what to expect, but her being nice to him wasn't one of them or being so comfortable around him. 'I'll pay you back sometime,' she dropped her feet back to the ground and reached out to grab her bag. 'Last thing I want, is to owe something to the great Seto Kaiba.'

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A/N: And the epic moment was ruined. I totally thought that this was it. They are officially together with Mokuba's blessing and all the shebang, but poor Kaiba putting in all those extra hours not to feel lonely without his annoying little bookworm. I am sure that the characters are probably as frustrated as we are -_-. Just in case there is any confusions, the first dream memory is Kaiba's and the second one is Alisa's. I wanted to show there first interaction with each other since I kept hinting that they were in school together. As always, I hope that you guys are enjoying the story and I hope to see you soon. I am so sad that we are nearing the end and there are only two more chapters left, three if I can make a miracle happen. So until next time!