Chapter 7 :

Katsuya paced back and forth. He glanced occasionally over his shoulders at the large, wooden double doors that were the next obstacle to overcome after his reluctance had been conquered.

He was at the Kaiba mansion. Enemy territory.

The weekend had passed in a blur. It had been busy and stressful. Although that was the usual, he had felt more tense after each hour had passed. His mind seemed to be counting down to when Kaiba would become one of his priorities. It was definitely not a good feeling.

Today was Monday. Since he had quit at the Blue Lagoon, he only had his catering job this morning and was free all afternoon until his evening shift at the supermarket. He went straight home after he had finished delivering all the coffee orders for the day, ending his shift at a reasonable time. He had left his apartment at 2:45 to walk over to the Kaiba mansion. He would need all the time available to him to 'discuss' things with the brunet before leaving for his last job of the day.

Even though he had decided to help the CEO, he assumed that waiting to make demands of the businessman would be better away from Kaiba Corp. That way, he wouldn't interrupt any important meetings - and avoid getting on the brunet's nerves more than necessary. He had failed to realize that meant he had to go to Kaiba's house each day after the busy workaholic returned from the company though… until now.

He started pulling at his messy hair, worry plaguing his thoughts as continued his pacing.

Sure, they had set terms between them, but there was little doubt that Kaiba wouldn't find some loopholes to get out of Katsuya's demands. Probably the first thing that the CEO had done was tell the mansion's staff to restrict access to anyone of his description and name. The second term had said that Kaiba couldn't kick him out… but that didn't really exclude anyone else the businessman told to do it for him.

Well, only one way to find out.

Katsuya ended his overlapping stride and faced the front of the house properly, drawing on his determination and courage. He lifted his fist to the door hesitantly before rapping his knuckles against the dark wooden surface. The sound was soft. He waited for a few moments. No answer. Then he thought that anyone inside might not have heard because of how thick the door was. Just as he was about to knock again, the door swung open and he jumped in surprise.

An older man in a suit stood in the doorway. He had a good lock of hair and a nicely trimmed beard. His black hair was flecked with gray streaks. Wrinkles covered his face, giving him a stern and intimidating look. He also had broad shoulders, indicating strength hidden under his formal attire. All of these details were somewhat unexpected for someone of his apparent age. Katsuya noticed that the man was even taller than him by a few inches, not surpassing Kaiba, but still at a good height.

With a sheepish grin, Katsuya greeted the man he assumed to be the butler or doorman. "Uh, hi. I was hoping to see Kaiba... Is he here?"

"No." The grim man responded bluntly.

"Okay… well, can I maybe wait inside for him then?"

The stoic butler literally looked him up and down with displeasure, probably perceiving his casual appearance as insulting, before nodding once. Then the older man stepped back and gestured the blond inside. Katsuya gladly walked into the mansion, relief pulsing from him in waves.

His mouth immediately dropped when he took in the décor around him. Dark wood framed the windows and covered the floor. The stairs were carpeted in navy blue. All these cool colors clashed beautifully with the light, slate gray walls that extended upwards to the ceiling. The ceiling was high, leaving space for a large, glass chandelier to light the entrance. Landscape artwork hung framed, well-centered around the room with nightstands below them, each surface holding vases of flowers. Both sides of the stairs were open, no walls or doors to separate the entrance from the other rooms of the lower floor.

The butler cleared his throat from behind the awestruck blond. Katsuya closed his jaw and felt guilty, realizing that he was blocking the way for the older man to shut the door behind him. He apologized and moved aside.

He didn't dare go further into the mansion though. It was uncharted territory. He admitted honestly to himself that it would be exciting to explore, but knew that there was no doubt that he would get lost in a place this big. That normally wouldn't have stopped him… but there was no way that he was going to give Kaiba another reason to make fun of him.

He waited impatiently by the front door, long after the butler had left through the room on the right and out of his sight. He glanced at his watch. 3:09. He sighed. He had forgotten to ask Emiko what time Kaiba usually left work when he dropped off the coffee orders as usual this morning. He could have asked the butler as well, but hadn't thought to do so until the man was already gone and out of sight. He leaned back against the door and stuffed his hands into his pockets, preparing to wait as long as necessary for the CEO to return from Kaiba Corp.

Katsuya practically jumped out of his skin when the other front door to his left flew open without a sound, only having noticed it from his peripheral vision.

Seto Kaiba had finished work earlier than he had planned.

He left his office by 2:54, briefcase in hand. He nodded to his secretary that called out a farewell as he passed, heading to the elevator and down to the garage. All of his staff usually stayed until six or later, depending on their progress.

He had rescheduled most of his meetings to another day. For the most part, he had spent his time doing a background check on the black-haired businessman that had visited last week, Gou Watanabe. He had even got in contact with the CEO of Mizuchi Inc to double check that the proposal had come through their company, and inquired to other sources for a guarantee that Watanabe wasn't a con-artist. He was pleased to find out that everything that the enthusiastic dealer had said had been the truth. As such, he was leaning even more toward accepting the partnership, but still decided to wait until the next meetings had passed so that he had more information to make a proper contract between them.

As he drove out of the garage, he decided to go pick up Mokuba from school. His brother got out of school by three and usually preferred to get himself home whenever he could. Kaiba had allowed that, only because he knew that the middle school was an eight minute walk from the mansion. Security had been placed to monitor his younger sibling at all times anyways, so the brunet decided to let Mokuba have his few moments of short-lived independence.

Pulling up to the curb, Kaiba waited for his brother's dark hair to appear from the crowd of kids exiting the school building. He didn't have to wait long. His brother was revealed, chatting with a few of his classmates while walking. He watched as Mokuba looked forward for a moment and saw the white car parked idly at the front of the school gate. His sibling's dark eyes widened considerably in surprise. That surprise transitioned into a huge smile. Mokuba turned to say something to his friends before he ran over to the vehicle that the CEO was waiting patiently within.

"Seto!" His younger sibling yelled while throwing open the passenger door and jumping into the car. "You came to pick me up?"

"I got out of work early." He smiled softly at Mokuba, humored by the teen's enthusiasm.

"I'm glad! That rarely happens on Monday."

The middle schooler set his backpack down and reached for the seatbelt.

"Mokuba." It was a warning.

"But Seto!" Pleading eyes and pouting lips were turned toward the brunet.

Kaiba merely shook his head. "No. You know the rules."

"Fine…" Mokuba grumbled, grabbing his backpack as he exited the car and reentered again through the back door. At that point, a seatbelt was drawn and clipped into place before the teen slumped and pouted.

The CEO gave his brother a reassuring smile, hoping to dispel the negative atmosphere that now surrounded the youth and to indicate that he meant no ill will, before driving them both home. It only took a moment for Mokuba to regain his spirits and describe the events that occurred during his school day in fine detail. Kaiba listened to his brother ramble the whole way home, giving short comments and asking questions to signal his attentiveness to the conversation.

He always drove carefully when Mokuba was a passenger in his car. He even put his seatbelt on, trying to set a good example. It already seemed to be working. When he had driven Katsuya a few days ago, he had purposefully tried to discourage the blond duelist from asking for such a favor again. And even if he drove over the speed limit, the authorities would ignore and dismiss any involvement when realizing who the owner of the vehicle was. Kaiba was over the law - mostly because he could ruin anyone's life that attempted to try and prove him otherwise.

They arrived at the mansion a short time later.

Mokuba was only half way through his school day, but paused to ask his older brother to play video games with him after the car had been parked.

"Let's play Super Smash Bros! Please, Seto!"

"You know that you have to finish your homework before you are allowed on any electronics."

"Just for an hour?" Mokuba pleaded.

"No." His voice was stern.

"But Seto… I finished most of it at school already! I only have a bit left."

"Then it won't take you long to complete it. Go on."

"... Fine! But after I'm done with my homework, you have to play video games with me for as long as I want!"

The dark haired youth ran to the front door and flung it open. Kaiba followed more slowly, rolling his eyes at his brother's demand, while carrying his briefcase. He caught the front door as it was swinging closed. He entered in time to watch Mokuba reach the top of the staircase and disappear down the hall. He let the wooden door shut itself silently behind him. A small smile remained on his face until he spotted movement in his peripheral vision. His smile falling into a frown, he glanced to his left to find the source.

Kaiba stared in shock at the blond individual whose brown-eyes had captured his gaze.

Jounouchi.

Katsuya froze. The only movement that his body allowed was from his neck. His head had jerked sideways to focus on the front door that had opened without a sound. His mind scrambled to find a reason. The only one that came to him was... ghost.

Then a dark haired youth ran in. His eyes followed as that same teen raced up the stairs.

It took him a moment before he finally sighed in relief, relaxing as he realized that it was Mokuba and not a ghost. That made him feel a lot better. He could handle a kid. A ghost on the other hand… Nevermind. Katsuya tensed as he felt a shiver run down his spine. Then he shook himself away from the thought, physically and mentally, while trying to relieve the tension.

He focused on his surroundings and noticed that a taller individual had walked in while he had been distracted.

It was Kaiba.

The CEO was dressed in a black suit with a navy blue tie. His sleek, brown hair was styled flawlessly. But none of that was unusual.

Katsuya looked up at the brunet's face. And shock pulsed through him.

Kaiba was smiling.

Not a cruel smirk nor the lasting impression from a degrading laugh.

It was a sincere, and beautiful, smile. One that had yet to be seen by another other than Mokuba, until now.

What on earth...

So he can smile.

Those were the only things that managed to work their way through his mind. Even those azure eyes seemed to be bright with… something. Something marvelous.

Maybe it was the tie… Nah, it couldn't be. The tie did help make Kaiba's eyes stand out more, but no material object could project the emotions that were in those ocean-blue eyes now. And 'ocean' was probably the best word for it. Those orbs of light seemed vast… full of raw energy and hidden secrets.

Katsuya took a few small steps forward. He wanted to get closer. He wanted to have that wonderful gaze directed toward him. He had only seen it once before. That time had been when his sister, Shizuka, seemed to look straight into his being after she had met him again two years ago after her eye surgery. Eyes were the doorway to the soul after all.

But then he stopped.

The expression had disappeared from the CEO's face…

Disappointment.

That is what he felt when that overwhelming brilliance had vanished completely from those azure eyes.

End of Chapter 7