Since it is the Easter holiday, this is the first of two chapters that will be posted this weekend. I am hoping that they will make you laugh and cringe at the same time.
Chapter 7.
Dinner Date.
The restaurant that Seto Kaiba took Katsu to dine at boasted two Michelin stars. It was the kind of establishment that someone of Jonouchi's financial standing could only ever dream of eating in.
They were greeted at the door by a very well mannered young woman, dressed in a neat black skirt ending just above the knee, a neatly pressed white blouse with three quarter length sleeves and a black waistcoat. A folded napkin rested over her forearm and she wore white silk gloves on her hands, which Katsu thought was a bit weird.
She bowed to them. "Good evening Mister Kaiba. If you and your guest would like to follow me?" Seto nodded in response and gestured for Katsu to go first. Trying not to appear out of place, Katsu did as she was asked.
Another waiter pulled her chair out and gestured to her to sit. Much to her surprise, he even unfolded her napkin for her and draped it across her lap. It took all her willpower to stop herself telling him she was quite capable of unfolding her own napkin. She just about manage to whisper,"Thank you."
The leather-bound menu was something to behold – much posher than the laminated pieces of card she was more familiar with! It was not an extensive menu, but it did make a point of claiming that all of its produce was of the highest quality, locally sourced from the most ethical suppliers and was seasonal. The prices almost made her shriek. She and her father could eat for two months on the cost of the seven course taster menu.
"What would you like to drink?" Seto's voice cut through her thoughts as she perused the menu.
"Oh!" She wanted to ask for a beer, but the fact that she was only seventeen and... did posh restaurants even serve beer? "I erm..."
"We will have two glasses of your best champagne." He turned to Katsu. "You do drink champagne, don't you?"
You're paying! You bet I do Kaiba. "Yes please."
The waiter left them to choose their meals and went away to get their champagne.
It arrived in slender crystal glasses, that looked so thin they might shatter if touched. Katsu was tempted to pick it up and down it in one, but was almost too scared to touch the delicate glass.
Following Seto's lead, she delicately lifted her glass and sipped at it, relieved when it did not shatter.
The waiter returned a few minutes later to take their order.
They both chose the seven course taster menu, which included the Wagyu beef that Katsu was so desperate to try. Seto also ordered a bottle of Australian Chardonnay.
It was a well known fact that the multi millionaire CEO was still only seventeen and not old enough to drink legally, but the waiter did not even bat an eyelid and accepted his order without question. Katsu guessed that he would probably have the restaurant closed down if they refused. The perks of being Seto Kaiba – no one dared to say 'NO!'
"Tell me a little about yourself?" Seto gave her what almost passed for a nice smile. It made her feel weird.
Just as she had rehearsed with Anzu, she gave him a coy smile. "There's not much to tell really." That's the biggest lie ever! She almost snickered at the thought but managed to continue the charade. "I grew up in Yasu. It's fairly close to Kyoto..."
"I know where it is," Seto interrupted a little tersely. Jonouchi would have snapped back but Katsu bit her tongue.
Seto was a little embarrassed by his outburst. "Please don't feel offended. It's just... I'm not used to listening to what others have to say. I'm sorry. Please continue.."
Did Kaiba just apologise?! "No need to apologise." Kastu tried not to smirk at his awkwardness. "I take it you don't go on many dates?" Why the hell did she just ask that?
"I don't have time. You are the first woman I have bothered to ask out. If I need a woman to accompany me to business functions, I go to an agency. It saves me the time and energy of having to find someone to take." Why was he admitting that?!
"Oh! Yeah... I have heard of those agencies." Sad loser.
There was a slightly awkward silence before Seto spoke again. "So, what's it like being related to Jonouchi?" He asked, with a hint of mockery. It was really difficult for him to control the urge to make a nasty comment about the deadbeat duelist. But he did not want to say anything that might upset Katsu.
"My cousin is an awesome guy! It's a shame I won't get to see him while I'm here." Outwardly, she sighed. Inwardly, she was laughing at how bizarre that statement was. She had just started telling him that Jonouchi had gone to stay with his mother and sister, when their first course arrived.
Is that it?! thought Katsu. One mouthful and it would be gone! "The portions are rather small," she could not resist whispering to Seto. The comment earned a chuckle from the usually frosty CEO.
"My thoughts exactly," he admitted. "Better make it last," he winked.
"That might not be easy," said Katsu, eyeing the sushi morsel and tiny blob of off white gloop on her plate. "What's that?" She poked at it with her pinkie finger.
"It is a pickled ginger gel, I think," he replied, sounding rather uninterested.
Katsu wrinkled her nose at him. "Why can't they just put normal picked ginger on there?"
Seto shrugged. "It's called fine dining." The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. Katsu had a point. The ginger and small appetiser was a bit meagre.
"I'm tempted to stab it with my chopstick. What do you think?" He said, with a mischievous glint in his sparkly blue eyes.
"I dare you."
To her utter astonishment, he speared the morsel, swiped it through the 'ginger blob' and shoved it straight in his mouth without even batting an eyelid. Katsu's chin nearly hit the table at his behaviour.
"Mmmm.." he raised an eyebrow at her stunned expression as he chewed on his sushi roll.
This was a side of him she would never have imagined existed. Smiling, she copied him.
Sushi rolls demolished, Seto went back to their earlier conversation. "So, I'm guessing Jonouchi's mother is related to one of your parents? Interesting that you have similar names too: Katsu and Katsuya."
A knot of dread that he might be suspicious, threatened to choke her. But thinking quickly and keeping her cool, Katsu explained. "Our mothers are twins. They both got married on the same day! They were also pregnant at roughly the same time and wanted similar names for their babies. Katsuya is just a couple of weeks older than me."
"Oh! Interesting." Seto studied her. "I can certainly see the family resemblance. But at least your personality is nothing like his. He and I don't get on. I find him... annoying." That was an understatement; he was being as polite about the Mutt as he possibly could.
Yeah, if only you knew, rich boy! She thought to herself, smugly.
"Are you okay?" Seto was looking at her with concern.
She had not realised that she was gripping the tablecloth in her tightly clenched fist. "If you took the time to get to know my cousin, you would like him," she forced, as pleasantly as possible.
At the suggestion he should get to know Jonouchi, Seto tried not to snap at her. "I apologise if I said anything offensive," his jaw tensed. "But his attitude and behaviour riles me up somewhat. I will never accept him as a credible duelist. I don't know why Yugi bothers trying to help him."
It took all her will power not to say something nasty. But the food was too good to waste by throwing a hissing fit and running out of the restaurant. And besides, she was actually enjoying getting to talk to Kaiba on the same level. He was still a stuck up jerk, but he was a sexy one.
Oh My God! Did she just have that thought?! Telling herself to focus, she almost spat out her wine.
"Is that the only thing that's important to you? How good someone is at dueling?" There's more to Yugi and his friends than that. They are loyal to each other. Honda is strong and reliable, Anzu gives everyone encouragement and Jonouchi will fight anyone that tries to hurt them. He thinks the world of the little guy... I mean of Yugi."
"Whatever," Seto shrugged. "I have no respect for any of them, except perhaps Yugi. But that will change when I defeat him fair and square in a duel. I will never be their friend, no matter how hard they try to nauseate me with their little lectures."
She could have launched into a lecture about how Jonouchi had learned more from losing than he had from winning. And how he would willingly lose every game he played for the rest of his life, if it meant that his dad would stop drinking, his parents would reconcile and his sister's eye surgery was guaranteed to be a success. Instead, she kept quiet and finished the food on her plate.
Sensing he might have made her feel awkward, Seto changed the subject to his younger brother. Katsu had to pretend she knew nothing about Mokuba, but it warmed her heart to hear the way Kaiba spoke about his little brother. Just as she would crawl through mud and burning embers for Shizuka, so Seto Kaiba would for Mokuba – even if they did have vastly different ways of showing they cared. Kaiba could almost be forgiven for the way he had treated Mokuba at Death-T.
The rest of the evening went smoothly. Refusing to let her see how much it came to, Seto paid the bill before leading her out to where his limo was already waiting.
The breeze wafted gently off the ocean, ruffling their hair and Katsu took a deep breath. "Mmm... I love the beach and the sea."
"Would you care to walk along the sand? I think the tide is out," he said.
"Erm..." She was unsure. Part of her wanted to but she was fearful it might seem romantic. If he tried anything, she could always kick him where it hurt and make a run for it. "Yeah, okay."
Seto nodded and told Isono to drive the car down to the car park at the far end of the sea wall and wait for them there.
They made their way down the steps that were cut into the sea wall and onto the paved walkway. Seto offered her his hand but she declined.
The shoes Katsu was wearing were almost impossible for her to walk in, so she took them off, before stepping off the pathway and down onto the sand.
The tide was indeed right out, revealing a vast expanse of damp sandy beach. The area on which they chose to walk was reasonably firm compacted sand, and it felt cool and spongy beneath her feet.
Katsu could be forgiven for thinking that the light cooling breeze, the gentle noise of the ocean and the glow of moonlight upon the surface of the water and on the wetter areas of sand was somehow romantic.
They were fairly quiet as they strolled. Katsu tried to keep an arm's length distance between them but Seto moved slightly closer and to her horror, she felt his fingers brush against her hand to link her fingers with his.
She gulped. Should she shove him away and tell him to back off? If she did, she might sound too much like Jonouchi and he might suspect something was not quite right. Grinning and bearing it, she let him hold her hand but tried not to appear too responsive.
Her hand and arm must have gone stiff because Seto turned his head to look at her with concern. "Are you okay? You're not cold are you?"
"No, I'm fine." Admittedly, it was a bit chilly in just a thin dress, light jacket and no shoes. No wonder girls were always shivering and moaning they were cold!
He grunted and nodded his head. "I never thought I would say something like this to anyone, but I am enjoying your company." Not wanting to appear as if he was enjoying himself too much, he tried to make his voice sound as bland and uninteresting as possible, but failed miserably.
"Really?!" Katsu knew she sounded much too shocked. "I mean... Jonouchi told me you didn't like other people, so it's nice to know you like being with Me!" He seemed oblivious to the irony in her voice.
"I do. And for the record, it's stupid people I have an issue with."
"I guess that rules out most of the population, huh?! But it's nice to know you don't think I'm stupid!" If only you knew who I really am!
Her comment made him laugh. Katsu tried not to grimace. Why was it always so disturbing to hear Kaiba laughing?
At the other end of the beach, he gestured for her to go up the steps first. Remembering to thank him, she started to climb the first step and felt his hand touch the small of her back. It was just a friendly touch but it still startled her and she shot up the steps like an Olympic Sprinter out of the blocks.
Seto ran up after her. "You're quite an athlete!" He grinned.
"I... er.. I run for my school." Sort of a lie – Jonouchi had been kicked off the track team in middle school for urinating on Ushio's kit, underneath the bleachers. "I'm actually the fastest girl in the school." That probably was not a lie.
"That's great! I run to keep fit. Maybe we could go for a run together?"
"Yeah... maybe." She was wary of it becoming a second date. It was too risky. Tonight really was meant to be a one-off.
"Good! How about tomorrow afternoon? Six thirty. I usually run six laps of my estate, which is about five miles. Is that okay?"
"Five miles is..." A piece of cake. "fine."
"Do you need picking up or can you make your own way to my mansion?" He asked, opening the car door for her.
"I can make my own way, thanks."
Both seated and belted in, the limo drove them back to Anzu's house.
::::::::::::
There was absolutely no way that Anzu could go to bed until Katsu got home safely.
Yugi had to work the evening shift in the store, but had come round to lend some support after closing up. He now felt far more in control of his emotions than he had the previous day, when he had been a little irritated by Katsu's decision to date Kiba. He was back to his more usual, cheerfully optimistic self and was vowing to be stoic about the whole thing.
Anzu glanced at the clock. "It's gone ten!"
"Don't worry Anzu. Jonouchi... I mean Katsu can look after herself. And ten is not that late anyway."
"I know. I just worry that Kaiba might try something and she reacts by punching him, and then all hell breaks loose. What if Kaiba finds out that she's really Jonouchi turned into a woman and... Oh dear! I can't even begin to imagine..." She was stopped mid rant by Yugi's hands on her shoulders and his gentle, calming smile in front of her face.
"Hey! Stop and breath, okay? Nothing's going to happen. I trust Jonouchi. He might be struggling to maintain control of his mind, but he's a fighter and there's no way he would let Katsu get into any awkward situations that might land her in trouble." As soon as he finished speaking, he started to have doubts.
Yami Yugi appeared beside him. "Try to have faith in our friend, Aibou."
"Yeah, I'm trying Other Me. It's just that trouble and Jonouchi often go together."
"I trust Jonouch to not allow Katsu to disgrace herself."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Yugi mumbled out loud, causing Anzu to look at him in confusion. "Oh!" He winked at her. "I was just talking to the other Me! He says we should trust Katsu."
Anzu laughed, but she was still feeling worried. "Yeah, I'm probably being silly. But I can't help it! I know how much Jonouchi and Kaiba hate each other and I'm worried Katsu will slip up and let it show."
"You said yourself that Katsu is doing really well at being convincing. There's nothing we can do except wait for her to get home."
"Yeah, you're right. Would you like a hot drink and we can snuggle on the sofa while we wait?" At the thought of snuggling on the sofa with Anzu, he nodded enthusiastically.
Beside him, Yami Yugi gave him the thumbs up.
::::::::::::
The limo pulled up and parked outside Anzu's house at about ten thirty pm.
A screen divided the driver's compartment from the rear of the car, offering privacy for the two occupants. Taken by his female companion, Seto could not resist the urge to reach for her soft, delicately manicured hand.
Katsu looked down in horror at the way Seto's own well manicured hand enveloped hers and hurriedly moved it out of the way. It was possibly the wrong move because with her hand removed, his hand now rested on her thigh.
Slightly embarrassed, he cleared his throat and gingerly removed his hand. "I apologise if I am making you feel uncomfortable."
"No! Not at all. I'm not uncomfortable." She squeezed her knees together defensively. "I have never been on a date with a guy before." That was the truth!
"I see." He smiled at her rather sweetly. "Would you like me to walk you to your door?"
"You don't have to." She reached for the door handle to make her escape, but the door would not open due to the automatic locking system. And in her panic to escape, she had no idea how to release it. She had also forgotten to unclasp her seat belt.
"Allow me," Seto leaned across her and pressed a small button next to the door handle. There was a click and the button on the door lock popped up. He then reached down and undid her seatbelt. Katsu sat as still as a rock.
As he moved to sit back, he paused and looked at her mouth. The way her teeth were working her lip nervously and the way her tongue popped out for just a second to moisten her bottom lip drove him wild.
Katsu could now feel his breath on her face. He was getting way too close for comfort.
Unable to resist, he closed the gap between their lips in an attempt at a chaste kiss. Katsu clamped her lips together as tightly as possible, grimaced and turned away. His lips brushed her jaw.
Feeling her tense up, Seto paused but did not give up immediately. Determined to break through her defences, he hovered, seductively pleading with his deep, baby blue eyes.
Her own chocolate browns gazed into his for a second, before she mustered the will power to bring her hands up to his chest and push him away as gently, but firmly, as she possibly could. "Not on the first date!" She squeaked.
He sat back and flattened down the front of his suit jacket. "I don't know what came over me. I just... I find you attractive."
"Nah... No worries." She pushed the door open and all but fell out onto the pavement.
Seto leaped out and ran to her side. "We're still on for our run tomorrow though, aren't we?"
Katsu smiled. She could never ever have imagined that Seto Kaiba; the frosty CEO, would behave like a lovestruck schoolboy! There was a lightness to him and he was almost bouncing around with joyfulness.
Joyfulness?! That was a strange word to associate with Kaiba. The only joy he ever showed was when he humiliated someone and made them look small in front of others.
This was definitely a new side to Seto kaiba.
"Goodnight Katsu," he called after her as she walked up the path to Anzu's front door.
Katsu turned around and waved. "Night Kaib..a.. Seto." Oh God! Had he noticed the near slip up? Shoving her key in the door lock, she dashed inside .
Standing on the pavement, arms folded. Seto watched her. She was so funny that it made his heart flutter. He found himself respecting her for refusing a kiss on the first date: the girl had standards.
The fact that she had called him Kaiba, before correcting herself and calling him Seto was cute. The only person that usually called him Seto was Mokuba. People generally called him Mister Kaiba, while Yugi and his friends called him Kaiba. He was glad that she felt comfortable enough to call him Seto.
Smiling, he got back into his car and told Isono to take him home.
Well, that was an interesting evening! Far from the disaster everyone expected.
Please send me your thoughts in a review.
