We are having a heatwave in the UK, meaning it is too nice to spend time indoors on my lap top reading through and editing. So, since this is hot off the press, please excuse any mistakes (or tell me about them).

Warnings: Some swearing and a bit of blood.


Chapter 21

Unresolved Tension

Arriving at the mansion, Katsu felt more nervous than she had ever felt before. She was even more nervous than when Jonouchi had been cornered by a gang five thugs when he was fourteen, and had narrowly escaped being beaten to death. She was even more afraid than when Jonouchi had been coerced into re-joining Hirutani and his gang of chimps, and then been strung up, beaten and zapped with cattle stunners.

Stifling a shudder, she stood at the front door and waited for it to be opened.

When Mokuba answered, she was surprised and knocked off her guard a little. Following her friends advice, she had made the decision to skip the delicious meal and tell Kaiba it was over, right here on the doorstep, before legging it home. "Oh! Er... Hi Mokuba!"

"Hey! Katsu. You look very nice." The young teen blushed at himself for giving her a compliment.

"Thank you..." She chuckled. "You're looking good yourself Mokuba. What's that on your clothes?"

Mokuba looked down at the splashes of chocolate, vanilla cream and strawberry sauce that were all over his sweatshirt. There were also prints on the thighs of his jeans where he had wiped his hands.

His blush deepened. "Oh! That's desert! I'm helping chef. He's letting me make you a special treat."

The resolve was suddenly knocked from Katsu. She could not possibly tell Kaiba it was over and then leave; Mokuba had gone to a lot of trouble and was clearly excited. It would leave him disappointed if she did not at least stay and enjoy the meal he had helped prepare. And just like Jonouchi, Katsu hated the thought of any food going to waste. "Wow! I hope it tastes as good as it looks on your clothes?" She teased.

"You bet it does!" He beamed. "Follow me? Seto's waiting in his study."

Katsu nodded and followed the boy to a room she had not been inside before.

Oak doors opened to reveal a large room with a table made from polished maple: so highly polished that Katsu could see her refection in its surface. One wall was lined, half with books and half with what must be at least one hundred games. The far wall consisted of sliding glass doors that could be opened up for access onto a patio. And on the remaining wall was a modern glass panelled gas fire, with imitation pebbles behind the glass. Above that, a huge flat screened monitor dominated, while on an adjacent shelf sat several different types of game consul. She looked around in awe.

"Like it?" asked Kaiba, with a slight smirk. "I like to play different games, with different formats. It helps me gauge what the competition is up to. There is some resistance, but it is my aim to eventually own all the major players in the gaming industry. Those that resist will merely fall by the wayside."

That sounded like a rather arrogant statement to Katsu. She did not think that Kaiba had more power than giants like Nintendo, Sony or Konami! But she would not put it past him to eventually become a major shareholder in those companies. "Yeah..." she muttered, nervously wringing her hands.

Seto gave her a confused look. "Relax! You look like you think I am going to bite your head off!"

"Do I? I'm just hungry," What a poor excuse. "I get a bit shivery when I'm hungry."

He turned to Mokuba, who was still hovering; eves-dropping in the doorway. "Can you ask Chef to start serving in five minutes?"

"Sure! Will do." Mokuba scurried back to the kitchen. Seto rolled his eyes in amusement and Katsu could see the love for his little brother reflected in them.

"He insisted on helping cook the dinner," Seto chuckled. "Apparently, he's made desert all on his own. He would not tell me what it is, but judging by the state of him I think I can guess on strawberry, chocolate and vanilla layered cake."

"I can't wait to taste it." She was not lying. On the rare occasion he could afford to buy luxuries, Jonouchi loved to go to the cake shop. She was sure her friends would understand her decision to stay.

On the way to the dining room, Seto paused and turned to her. He wanted this to be an enjoyable meal and sensed by her body language that something might be weighing on her mind.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Wha...! No!" Katsu snapped, almost a little too neurotically. "I'm... kay..." she faltered slightly. She should tell the truth. "I don't think I can move in with you," she blurted.

Seto's jaw tensed slightly but there was no adverse reaction from him. His jaw relaxed and he nodded thoughtfully. "I appreciate this is new to you, and I can understand if you are nervous. But I will not force myself on you. If you require more time, that is okay."

"Er... yeah! Thanks. I haven't had the courage to ask my parents yet." She felt the huge knot in her chest ease slightly. "They will probably say 'no' anyway."

He glanced at her with a raised eyebrow but did not pressure her further. If he offered them money, her parents would not be a problem.

::::::::::::

The streets in this affluent part of town were wide and lined with cherry trees. Parked under the cover of one, they were shielded from the glare of the nearest street-light and had a good view of the well lit mansion. It would be easily spot anyone who come outside.

Being the tallest, Honda sat in the front where there was more leg-room. Yugi and Anzu were in the back and were leaning between the front passenger seats with their eyes fixed on the gates.

The narrow gap between the front seats meant that they were very close to one another and Yugi felt his face heat up when her cheek pressed into the spiky hair on the side of his head. It felt... intimate.

"Yugi! Can't you squash your hair down or something? It keeps getting in my face." Her complaint made him deflate somewhat and he mumbled an apology.

Scraping a hand through his hair, he tried to flatten it but it didn't make much difference.

"Never mind," she sighed. "Try this." She took the silk bow from her school blouse and tied it around his head. It seemed to do the trick and they went back to their watching.

Thinking that no one could see him, Yugi took the end of the bow, that was hanging down near his cheek, and brought it to his lips. He could smell her scent and almost taste it – it was heavenly.

In her rear-view mirror, Mai caught a glimpse of him and could not prevent the amused snort and snicker that escaped her.

Thinking she had just seen something at the Kaiba mansion, all eyes snapped first towards her and the then on the gates.

"What? What did you see?" Honda demanded anxiously. She must have awesome eyesight because he could not see anything.

"Oh!" She pressed her hand over her mouth to try and stop her laughter. "No! Sorry," she winked. "Rear view mirror."

Yugi's eyes went wide with horror and embarrassment: she had seen him sniffing Anzu's silk scarf!

"What are you on about Mai?" Said Anzu, innocently looking around her. She spotted Yugi cringing. Even in the dark she could see how red his face was. "Did something happen Yugi?"

He tried to smile nicely at her, but he was sure it was more of an apologetic grimace than a smile. "No!" He gulped. "Nothing!" Praying Mai would not snitch on him, he caught her eye. Mai winked at him knowingly.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," she explained. "I just caught a glimpse of you in my rear view mirror and thought the pair of you looked cute with your faces pressed together like that."

Honda rolled his eyes. "Quit teasing them Mai! We should be more concerned about how long Katsu is taking." He glanced at his watch. "It's been nearly twenty five minutes!"

"You don't think he's holding her prisoner, do you?" Said Mai, half tongue in cheek and half serious.

"Mai! Don't say things like that!" Anzu twisted to face Yugi and their noses brushed. The pair both flinched bashfully at the touch.

Regaining her composure, Anzu continued to ask. "Do you think Kaiba would be so stupid as to hold her prisoner Yugi?"

His mind distracted for a moment, he gazed back at her through the dark interior of the car. Her lips looked juicy and the way she chewed her bottom lip... A sharp jab to his mind from his other self snapped him back to reality. "I..!" It came out as a high pitched squeak, so he cleared his throat. "I don't know," he managed to say more levelly. "Kaiba's capable of anything, so I wouldn't put it past him."

"What should we do Yugi? I'm not happy to just sit here doing nothing!" Honda was all for going in there and demanding he let their friend go.

But Yugi did not think that was such a good idea – yet! "Has Katsu got her phone with her?" He asked Anzu.

"I think so." She understood what he was thinking. "I will text her and ask her what time she's coming home." She quickly sent a text. Several minutes went by before they received a reply.

::::::::::::

Katsu was just sitting down to enjoy her meal.

Mokuba had changed into a clean shirt and was insisting on playing waiter; all the while, dropping hints about how much he was looking forward to her moving in and how nice the room they had chosen for her was.

Seto rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "Mokuba! Would you please leave Katsu alone. You will frighten her off!"

"Seto!" The boy whined, before grinning at Katsu and persisting. "I can show you the room after dinner if you like?"

Before she could respond, her phone beeped loudly in her bag. Seto did not appear to hear her phone because he was ushering Mokuba out of the dining room to give him a lecture about not interfering in his love life.

Katsu had already guessed the message was from her friends, and as not surprised to see that they were waiting across the street and were worried.

She quickly replied. Go home guys. I'm ok. Enjoying food that Moki has helped cook so don't wanna leave and upset him. Kaiba not putting any pressure on me to move in. CU later x

Anzu pouted as she read the message out.

Honda thumped the dash in annoyance. "Fuck! Idiot! What the hell is she playing at? All she's gotta do is tell Kaiba she doesn't want to date him!"

Anzu defended her actions. "It's probably awkward. Mokuba has been through a lot, so I can understand that she doesn't want to say anything with him there; it might upset him."

"What's awkward about it? Jonouchi hates their guts and never has any problems speaking his mind!" Honda argued back.

Anzu groaned in frustration. "I thought we had been over that! Katsu is not the same person as Jonouchi!"

Honda slapped his forehead in frustration. "I wish you would all stop treating this like it's okay! It's not! It doesn't matter if she if a different person, she's still Jonouchi inside."

"But we don't know that he knows what is going on, do we Yugi?" Mai looked to Yugi to back her up.

Yugi frowned. He honestly did not know. All he could do was theorise using what limited knowledge he and his other self had of the Millennium Items. "I really don't have a clue," he admitted. "My best guess would be that Jonouchi has lost all control over what Katsu does. I have no idea if he knows what is happening or if he has any influence over her."

"If that's the case, she's now a loose cannon," Mai added. "Maybe she is just telling us what we want to hear and has no intention of finishing with him. Maybe Honda's right, we should storm in there before it's too late!"

"Do you think she's beeen lying to us?!" Anzu gasped.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Honey! When you've worked on cruise ships like I have, you would soon learn that people tell lies all the time in order to get laid."

"Not with Mokuba there!" Anzu squeaked, defensively.

"It's a big house. I'm sure they can avoid Mokuba," Honda seethed, through gritted teeth. His mind was made up. "I'm going in there to put a stop to this charade, now!"

"And what will you say?" Anzu challenged.

"Anzu's right Honda," Yugi added. "We can't just go and hammer on the door demanding he releases her. Not without rehearsing what we will say."

"I will message her again," said Anzu. Pulling out her phone, Anzu unlocked her key pad. "What should I say?"

"Remember your a dude and get your sorry ass out of there," Honda suggested, forcefully.

"Idiot!" Mai slapped him.

Meanwhile, Yugi was thinking of something a little more diplomatic to say. "How about: [How long will you be? We will wait for you. Suggest you tell him you have to go home as soon as you have eaten.] That way, she will know that we are looking after her."

"She will more likely think we're suffocating her!" Mai scoffed. "What do you think her reaction to us telling her what to do will be?"

Anzu groaned. "You're right Mai. I am pretty sure that deep down she likes him and wants to keep seeing him. She only agreed to end it to keep us happy and because she cares for Jonouchi. But if we're too pushy, she might rebel against us and do whatever she pleases."

"I think we should ask her how long she will be and if she wants us to wait?" said Mai.

"So that's it then. We can do nothing about it. What if she tells us not to wait?" Honda grumbled.

No one wanted to answer that.

Biting her lip, Anzu sent the message Mai had suggested. At least it sounded like an offer from friends, rather than a threat or a demand.

::::::::::::

When her phone beeped again Katsu was not sure whether to look at it or not. Across from her, Seto seemed more interested in his seared salmon fillet than her beeping phone. She reached into her bag and then hesitated. He looked up.

"Go ahead. Answer it. It's probably those dorks you've been hanging around with. They think I can't see them, but I know they are parked across the road. I have cameras everywhere." He snorted. "They probably think I'm feeding you rat poison."

Gulping, she put her knife and fork down. How dare he call her friends dorks! The memory of Jonouchi being poisoned was also still raw. Being here, in this room, brought it all back. "I think I just lost my appetite."

At first he looked a bit confused but it quickly dawned on him: Of course, the mutt was her cousin and he had just insulted the dork squad. She probably knew about Mokuba's mischievous little stunt as well. "If it helps. Mokuba is sorry about the way he behaved. He was actually trying to poison Yugi, your cousin just got in the way – as usual." He was so used to using sarcasm whenever he referred to Yugi and his friends that he was unable to keep it from his voice. He continued, unperturbed. "Mokuba was having some behavioural issues at the time and was trying to impress me." There was no remorse in his words. It was stated like a fact; as if it was okay to kidnap people, feed them poison and force them to play games where their lives depended upon the outcome.

"Well, it was a good job Yugi won then, wasn't it?" She snapped, abruptly. "I'm going home!" She downed the rest of her wine and stood up, throwing her napkin at him in disgust.

Wondering what he possibly could have said that was so offensive, he looked at her with a shocked expression. All he had done was state facts! Mirroring her action, he stood up as well. "Why are you getting so upset?" He growled. "It's not like you were there when it happened."

If only he knew. "Yeah, well it doesn't matter if I was there or not! Jonouchi's friends are my friends, and they deserve better than to have you slagging them off all the time. What the heck is wrong with you? It's like you've got some dirty great chip on your shoulder!"

She had hit a raw nerve with her comment and he flinched slightly. His face morphed into a spiteful scowl. How dare she! "You know nothing of the responsibilities or the burdens I have had to carry. So I suggest you keep quiet," he snarled.

"No! I won't keep quiet!" She was on a roll now. "Having a shit childhood is no excuse! Yugi and his friends have done nothing except help you, but you all you do is treat them like dirt! If it wasn't for Yugi, you and Mokuba would be rotting in a dungeon and Pegasus would be CEO of Kaiba Corp.!" Realising she had said too much she clamped her mouth shut. She could see the veins almost popping in his neck. His jaw looked tense and his left fist was clenched at his side while his right was shaking with rage around his wine glass.

"Don't you think I realise that?" He snarled. "Every time I see them the jagged scar of defeat and indebtedness festers and tears open just a little bit more. Until I..." He was squeezing his wine glass so tightly that it shattered, cutting his hand. "Shit!" He shook his hand out, dripping blood onto the white tablecloth. He turned it over to look at it and snorted. "Until I defeat Yugi, this is the wound I have to carry." Smirking at the blood welling up in his palm, he held it out towards her. The discomfort between him and Katsu, made him shiver with satisfaction.

Gasping, Katsu's eyes widened. He had hardly flinched when his hand was cut and almost seemed to be pleased with the statement his wound was making. "You fucking idiot!" She rushed round the table and picked up a spare napkin. "Let me see it?" She ordered. He pulled his hand away from her but she grabbed his wrist. "There might be glass in it." Jonouchi had smashed a pint glass over a guy's head once and had ended up with glass in his hand when the bottle shattered. He knew how to deal with his own wounds: the police had been looking for the gang members responsible, so he had dare not go to hospital to get his hand treated and had been forced to go to patch himself up with antiseptic wash, steri-strips and gauze. It had healed just fine.

Sighing, Seto let her take his fingertips. She pulled his hand open to look at the cut. It looked clean but was deep. "Can you feel all your fingers?" She squeezed each one to check for nerve damage.

"Yes," he groaned, sounding fed up. But he let her continue being his nurse.

The maid came in with Mokuba to see if they had finished eating their dinner and both let out frightened screams when they saw the blood.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried out, running over. "What happened?"

"Damn cheap wine glass!" He hissed.

Katsu didn't say anything, but continued wrapping his hand in the napkin.

"Is it bad?" Asked Mokuba, with a worried frown.

"Not too bad," Katsu smiled at him. "But it could use a couple of stitches."

"I will get the doctor," Mokuba stated.

"No!" Said Seto, abruptly. "I will wash it and bandage it so that we can finish dinner first. You made desert, didn't you?"

"But..." Mokuba began.

"No buts! I will clean this and get it stitched later."

Having forgotten about going home, and also her friends message, Katsu accompanied him to the bathroom.

He sat on a stool with his hand over the basin and let her wash and clean it. After several minutes it still refused to stop bleeding and they ended up having to use several dressings before it appeared to stem the flow.

Katsu opened her mouth, and was about to start explaining how she had cut her hand like this once, but just managed to stop herself. He would only start asking questions about it and she would have to make up more lies.

He looked at her with an amused smirk. "You were about to say something?"

She shook her head. "Nah... Was just thinking how stubborn this cut is. I think you're gonna have to keep your arm elevated while you eat Mokuba's desert, otherwise it might keep bleeding."

"Thank you," he sighed. "I seldom apologise, but I'm sorry if I said anything offensive about your friends. I respect Yugi as a duelist, but I will not pretend I have any feelings for them other than disdain."

Katsu was very tempted to squeeze his injured hand out of spite, but managed to stop herself.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," she said in the end.

::::::::::::

Nearly twenty minutes had passed and Katsu had still not replied to her message. Anzu turned to Yugi. "What do you think we should do?"

"I know what I think we should do," Honda answered for him.

"I'm not sure we should interfere," said Yugi. "I think we should trust her."

"Send her another message," Mai suggested. "Her phone might be on silent so she might not have seen the first one."

"Good idea!" Anzu quickly typed in another message, asking Katsu to respond to the first message.

Katsu and Seto were just returning to the dining room. The maid had cleared the bloodied tablecloth and replaced it with a fresh one. The blood drips had been wiped from the floor, leaving the room spotless.

Katsu was just sitting back down in her seat when she saw the light on her phone flashing from inside her bag where she had left the flap open after she had reached in to get her phone earlier.

"Oh! I have a message." She grinned sheepishly at Seto as she read the message. "It's my friends. They want to know if I want a lift home."

Mokuba was just coming into the dining room, proudly pushing his prize desert on a hostess trolley. He heard Katsu mention them. "Why don't you invite them in? I want to share my cake with the gang to say thank you for everything they have done for Seto and Me." He noticed how his big brother was boring holes into him with an icy glare and responded by giving him puppy eyes. "Please Seto? I feel like we owe them."

Seto inhaled deeply and let it out noisily. "Very well."

"Thanks big bro! You're the best!" Mokuba went to hug him but Seto flinched back.

"Mind the hand!" He said, raising it up and out of Mokuba's reach.

"Oops! Sorry. Promise me you will let the doctor look at it?"

"Yes, I will. Now, if you will excuse me? I am retiring to my room. I don't eat desert and I am not in the mood to face their stupid questions about what I did to my hand." He turned to the maid. "I will take coffee in my room. He looked at Katsu, without any affection."Goodnight Katsu." He turned and left.

"Night..." She replied, feebly. Was he cooling towards her?

Mokuba looked at her. "Did something happen between you two?"

Katsu finished typing her text to Anzu and then looked up. "We had a bit of a disagreement, that's all."

"Did he deliberately smash the glass? Is that how he cut his hand?" Mokuba looked worried.

"Nah... like he said, the glass just broke." When her phone vibrated to say that she had a reply, she was glad of the distraction.

::::::::::::

"She's replied!" Anzu exclaimed, with some relief. "She's asking us if we would like to come inside and share the cake that Mokuba has made. What do you think?"

Yugi and Mai both nodded, but Honda snorted. "Yeah, as long as it's not poison," he snorted.

"Oh! Will you give it a rest?" Mai complained. "I thought you were desperate to get in there,"

"And Mokuba's a good kid now," Anzu stated. "He's grown out of doing dangerous things, like poisoning people." She looked at Yugi for conformation. He nodded briefly. He was pretty sure that Mokuba would not pull another stunt like the one he had.

"Good! Then we're going," Anzu decided, sending a quick message to say they were on their way.

Still feeling uneasy about eating anything, Honda got out and followed them up to the gates of the mansion. The moment they got there, the lock on the gate buzzed and the gate swung open.

They hurried up the driveway, and when they reached the front door it was opened for them before they even had chance to knock.

"Ever feel like someone is watching your every move?" Honda huffed.

"Kaiba probably has cameras everywhere," Yugi guessed. "You can't be too careful when you have his reputation!"

"You got that right!" Honda replied. "The guy sure knows how to make enemies."

They were shown into the dining room, where Katsu and Mokuba were waiting for them. The first thing they all noticed was the absence of Seto.

"Where's Kaiba?" Yugi asked. His other Self had already emerged and was hovering at his shoulder, protectively.

"My brother doesn't eat desert and has a conference call to make," Mokuba lied, easily. "He won't be joining us."

"You all know how antisocial he is. He didn't like it when we invited you," Katsu added.

"Oh well," Anzu shrugged. "I'm kind of relieved that we don't have to face him."

"From what I've seen, he never has anything nice to say anyway," Mai added, nonchalantly.

"Hey! Don't talk about my brother like that," Mokuba complained. "He has a lot of responsibility. He can't afford to let his guard down."

"It's okay Mokuba. We understand," said Yugi, kindly.

Mokuba nodded. "Thanks Yugi." His face brightened. "Who's for cake?"


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