(Ah, unfortunately my right arm had been injured during a little accident I had crashing a mini quad into a ping pong table and I had a bit of trouble typing since my elbow was bandaged up like a mummy's. I hope that is good enough an excuse for taking so long with my updates and if not I'll try to make up something better. Read and review)

Chapter Two: Tinsel

Anzu faced Kaiba and gulped, having lost memory of how to breathe. "Ummm... Mokuba and I were... playing..." she murmured.

"That is not what I'm paying you for." One of the 'If looks could kill' phrases brushed past in her mind at the glare he was giving her.

"I know that!" she protested, trying to work out an explanation that might be good enough for him. "We finished his lesson... And I promised him I would play with him when we were done. I did mea-"

"I do not care. I want him to teach him what he needs to learn and then be off. I do not need you to be running around with him and disturbing me. There are more then enough interruptions for me." He stood up and she pushed herself back again the door as he approached.

"Yes... I will not do it again."

"Make sure that you don't," he said now standing right in front of her, slightly too close for her liking. "You are highly replaceable. Go tell my younger brother that you must be going."

Nodding she fumbled with the door handle and pushed it open. "I shall," she answered, unable to get away any faster. She ran into Mokuba a minute later squeaked that since she was not hiding they would have to do it over. "No... I have to go. I stayed a bit longer than I planned. I will be back tomorrow," she ruffled his long black mess of hair and was gone.

For the rest of the week she avoided Seto Kaiba wherever she went. If she saw him in the school hallways she changed direction. She stayed out of his way when tutoring Mokuba. The two of them played in his room for an hour after his lessons were done. She was doing anything and everything so she would not have to face him again

Friday evening she was heading out the door of the manor, having said her goodbye for the weekend to Mokuba a few minutes prior.

"Mazaki!"

"Yes?" she asked lightly. That was the end of trying to avoid him.

"Did you not want your payment before you run off?"

She blushed and nodded her head. "Please... That would be great."

He handed over a slip of paper to her and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh no, this is far too much. I cannot accept it. It's twice the amount you said you were going to pay me," she said, pushing it back into his hands but he refused to take it.

"No, it's all yours. You helped keep Mokuba out of my hair even though I did not ask you for it. I'm grateful really. Usually he stalks me, complaining about how he has nothing to do. It was nice not having to deal with it. Thank you."

She could have dropped dead. Had he really just said that? He had complimented her, rewarded her, and now he was thanking her. "Are you ill?" The words came out before she could stop them.

Frowning he shook his head. "No I am in perfect... Why?"

"I don't know... this just does not seem like you. I thought that maybe something was wrong."

"Nothing is wrong but it's going to be if you don't get out. Don't dawdle around here. You had your fun now leave."

"Better, that is more like you," she smiled and was soon steered out from the front door and outside. Kaiba released her shoulders only when he had her on the porch.

"I said leave, before I decide to keep you." She had been a very good help in taking care of Mokuba. Anzu's mind, though, chose to interpret the meaning in a different sort of way and she blushed bright pink as he shut the door. What an eventful day this turned out to be.

A month later Anzu was still working with Mokuba. She really enjoyed the time she was spending with the boy. She and Seto were getting along better too. Not on friend-like terms, exactly, but there was no longer that uncomfortable atmosphere they usually had when around each other. She had come to realize that he was really sweet when he wanted to be. Sometimes she managed to catch a moment or two when he was with Mokuba and they did not know she was around, she enjoyed just watching and listening to them. Apparent, as it was, that they loved each other very much. It was rather cute. Even though Seto acted as though Mokuba got on his utmost nerves all the time she knew it wasn't true. He was always doing whatever he could to keep the boy happy. A responsibility that he carried from the beginning of their orphanage days. All they had back then was each other and after Gozaburo had adopted them they had grown even closer under the constant abuse they had to take from him. Their adoptive father's behavior was what had driven Seto to become what he was now, cold and rejecting to anyone but his brother. Recently she had been beginning to wish he might let his walls down for her...

"What are you staring at?" Yugi's soft voice pierced through her thoughts and she tore her gaze away from across the school cafeteria where Seto was sitting along off to the side against a wall to look over at her addresser.

"Hmm...?" She was not really paying attention, her thoughts still lingering on the one who had been carefully examining. "Sorry, what did you say?"

Jonouchi was watching her suspiciously so she quickly dropped her eyes to the food in front of her and picked up the apple, sinking her teeth into it and chewing a piece of the sweet fruit. The blonde had opposed the idea of her working for the Kaiba brothers from the very beginning. No surprise there, everyone knew how much they detested each other.

"You've been acting a little strange lately, Anzu. Are you ill?"

Impossible as it was to hold back a laugh she managed it and shook her head. "No, I'm not sick in any way. I was just thinking."

"I don't like it. You've been acting strange ever since rich boy hired you. You should quit. Being around him so much can't be healthy." Jonouchi said, stabbing at a piece of fish on his plate with a fork, pretending it was Kaiba.

Anzu frowned. "I'm not going to quit. I like teaching Mokuba and I'm making more money than I could have hoped for. And Kaiba hasn't been treating me too poorly either. I have no reason to give it up."

"Yeah, but-"

"No!" she snapped suddenly. Why did he always have to be so persistent? "If you were the one who was working then you could do whatever you wanted, Jonouchi. But you're not! So just drop it already."

Everyone was taken aback, even herself. She never raised her voice or showed any sign of anger. She was not that kind of person. Instantly she calmed and murmured an apology for yelling, though she did not take back what she said. The rest of the day went by and Anzu had not spoken to Jonouchi once, acting as if he did not exist. There were good intentions, bad intentions... and Jonouchi's intentions. Classes ended and the blonde tried to approach her, no doubt to apologize or give off more comments on ditching Kaiba but she did not stay to find out. She had enough to handle.

It was a relief to get to the manor that day and to see Mokuba who never let anything get his spirits down. Every day he had a new source of energy and that bubbly attitude and happiness spread like a highly contagious disease. The down mood she was in had vanished after only a few minutes with the boy and it was not long after that she was laughing with him. The winter break vacation had already started for Mokuba so they had not had any lessons of his to go through. She had forgotten about this completely but was rather glad that she had or she would not have come.

"Moki-... M-Mokuba, stop!" She had been unsuspecting when the boy had pounced on her from behind and straddled her. Then he had begun tickling her sides and Anzu was extremely sensitive to it. "Mokuba!" she gasped, trying to get in a proper breath of air though it was hard. And since she was lying on her stomach with him sitting on her back it was hard to push him off.

Mokuba did not give any recognition toward stopping his playful torture on her so when suddenly his weight was gone she lay there for a few minutes before she heard another voice.

"Mokuba, if you're going to try to murder her do it in a way that is not so enjoyable."

Pushing herself up off the floor Anzu turned around and looked up at Kaiba. One look at his face confused her. She thought he would be angry or irritated as he usually was when he took the time to tear himself away from his work to come check on her and Mokuba. Now he looked... amused.

"Oh... I'm sorry." She started automatically with apologizes but he quickly cut her off.

"Anzu, Mokuba has been bothering me for weeks now to decorate the house for Christmas. I don't have the time to do it but I want to know if you could help."

She took some time to think it over. A little while, a short time, a few seconds worth, maybe even less. "Yes, of course!" She spent the week with Mokuba, hanging multi-colored lights around the house; little bunches of holly here and there. In the front room next to the doors they had arranged piles of fake snow. There were plenty of festive decorates by the time they finished, miniature one-foot tall imitation pine trees stood on tables with miniscule ornaments. Candles in green, red and white colors were everywhere, waiting to be lit.

Six days before Christmas Anzu and Mokuba set off on finding a proper tree to place in the grand living room. It was ten feet tall, full of evergreen branches and needles. Anzu loved the smell it gave off. She and Mokuba were busy carefully placing strings of white lights on it when his older brother came in. "Need any help?" Anzu nearly fell off the stool she had been standing on while trying to put a few of the ornaments near the top.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" she asked him. It was impossible to hide her smile.

He shrugged, picking up a box of golden and silver bobbles. "Probably. Do you want me to go?"

Mokuba dived for his brother and clung to his legs like a man lost at sea would a plank of floating wood. "No! Stay!" Anzu was not sure if it was a good idea. She did not know how Kaiba would act and she did not want it to ruin the time she was enjoying.

Then she heard a laugh. From Kaiba. A real one. Not one of those "evil scheme on my mind" laughs. She nearly fell off for the second time. It took around three hours to complete the decorations on the tree. They had taken a short break in between to have a small dinner as it had been growing late. Anzu and Seto were putting on the finishing touches: tinsel and the golden star. Mokuba had fallen asleep fifteen minutes prior.

A merry fire was crackling in the fireplace. Red, orange, yellow, and blue flames were licking the logs that fed them, providing warmth and light. Three empty mugs sat a little ways away, remains of hot chocolate cold at the bottoms. There was a cereal dish beside them; in it were four marshmallows that had been left neglected.

"Should we wake him?" Anzu whispered to Seto. He shook his head, glancing to his younger brother curled up under a small fleece blanket on the couch.

"Nah. When he's quiet, however it may be, I make sure he stays that way for as long as possible," he said, handing her another bunch of silver tinsel to place up top. She smiled and nodded, draping the shiny streams over the tree.

It was remarkable how she could start to spend time with a person with one set of expectations and end up with something entirely different. This time, different was good. The out coming for the time she had spent with Seto that day was so wonderful that she was ninety-nine point nine percent sure that it could only be a dream. He had acted so gentle, sweet, caring and everything else that was totally anti-him.

Getting all the tinsel positioned properly she peeked down at the star. It was the only thing left for them to place on. "We should save it. Let Mokuba put it on in the morning, I think he would like that," she said and Seto agreed. Taking a final glance at the work they had done, she sighed at the sight of the beautiful Christmas tree then made the mistake of taking a step back. Her heel slipped off the edge of the stool she had been standing on for the third time that day but this time she could not correct herself and cried out as she fell backwards.

The expected pain of hitting the floor never came and she opened her eyes, feeling a strong grip around her. "You all right?" Surely that soft, worried voice could not be his.

Whirling around her eyes met Seto's and a blush instantly lit up her cheeks. "Y-yes... Thanks," she murmured, very well aware of his arms still around her.

"Be more careful. If you get hurt here your parents will sue me. And I am sure your little friends will try to make it out to have been intentional."

"How could me falling off a stool have been intentional?" she asked. Internally she agreed. Jonouchi would leap at any chance he had to put Seto in any sort of trouble or scandal.

"They'll say I kicked it out from under you or something..." he chuckled. Anzu laughed as well and slowly slid her hands up his arms, able to feel his muscles beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. Why had she never taken the time to notice how attractive he was? Most likely because she spent too much of her time thinking how much of an arrogant jerk he was. Not today though. There had been none of those character traits in him.

His chocolate hair was falling elegantly into his crystal blue eyes, with not a trace of ice in them. The firelight played off his smooth skin and she could smell and feel his warm breath.

She must have been drowsy or something else that might have made her mind go so foggy. If she wasn't she would not have let her fingers slide up into his silky thick strands of hair or leaned up towards him. The same effect must have come over him as he had not pushed her away but joined her, bending down so their lips nearly met. A millisecond more and they would have kissed...

Then Mokuba woke up.

(Mmm... such a nice ending to this chapter... Just a touch of fluff, exactly what I needed for myself. If you read this, please review. Thanks a ton.)