Chapter Four: Interview

"Well, Seto, what do you think?"

"Be silent, Mokuba."

Seto held in his hands the results from the many rigorous tests he had put Astra through. She wasn't the best in terms of knowledge; there were many things, especially the more current breakthroughs, she had never encountered before. But he couldn't deny that she was a fast learner and quick thinker. 'It shouldn't take her long to pick something up, and after that, she'll be able to run with it; she'd just need someone to teach her some things.' He looked up at his brother, setting the file down, and Mokuba grinned at the look in his brother's eyes.

"I'll call her and ask her to come in to talk to you."

Seto nodded as his brother picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number by heart; he'd memorized it after dialing it so many times the last few days. When someone picked up on the other side, he put it on speaker.

"Techno Corner, this is Cathy speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hi, is Astra there?"

"Yes, she is."

"May I speak to her?"

"Give me a second, and I'll go and get her."

"Thank you."

Mokuba waited on the line for only a moment before someone picked up the phone again.

"Hello, this is Astra speaking."

"Hi, Astra, it's Mokuba."

"Oh, hi, Mokuba. What's up? Don't tell me you've gotten into trouble again."

"No, nothing like that. My big brother just looked over the results from your tests, and he wants you to come in and talk to him."

"You're joking right? Mokuba I only took those tests because you begged me to; I knew there was no way I had enough experience. Why in the world would Seto Kaiba want to talk to me?"

"I'm serious; he really wants to talk to you. He's sitting right here beside me. Tell her, Seto," Mokuba turned to his brother with a pleading look on his face.

Seto sighed, "He's not joking."

"Ok, what time," she still sounded as if she didn't quite believe him.

Mokuba turned to his elder brother, "Is one ok?"

Seto nodded his approval after taking a quick look at his schedule.

"I'll send a car over for you around twelve forty, ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine, but I can get there myself you know. You don't have to..."

"You gave me a ride a couple days ago, so now, I'm returning the favor."

"Ok, if you insist; I'll see you, Mokuba," and almost as an afterthought, "Seto."


"You seem to be on very good terms with her, seeing as you just met three days ago."

"She's not like other people; she thinks differently, more like us. You'll like her, Seto; I just know you will."

"I highly doubt that. Besides, my liking her, or not, is irrelevant. Even if she is hired, it's highly unlikely I'll be seeing her at all. Now, I've got a meeting in five minutes."

Seto adjusted his tie and picked up his briefcase before he left the office.


'Now how am I going to explain to Cathy why I have to leave early?' "Hey umm.., Cathy?"

"Yesh, what is it?"

"Would it be alright if I left around twelve thirty today?"

"Why?"

"I've got an appointment at one, and it's kinda important."

"I guess since you did so much yesterday, that it'd be alright if you left early today. But tell me, is it a date? Who is it?"

"What," Astra spluttered in complete shock.

"It isn't a date! I would never leave work early for something like that. Besides, when was the last time you saw me go on a date?!"

"That is exactly my point, Astra. You need to get out there; you're a beautiful, intelligent girl, and yet you insist on…"

"I have no interest in dating, Cathy; my only interest is my career. Now, may we please drop this tedious subject?"

"Alright, alright."

The two young women turned back to their work. One thinking that she would never understand her friend or the way she thought. The other preoccupied with thoughts of Kaiba Corp. and her meeting with Seto Kaiba himself. At exactly twelve forty, a shiny, black sedan pulled up to the curb, the driver's door opened, and a young man dressed in a suit stepped out.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Astra?"

"Yes, I am."

"My name is Milan; Mr. Kaiba sent me to pick you up."

She nodded, and he opened the back door for her; then shut it after her. Milan climbed back into the driver's seat and pulled away from the curb. They made light conversation along the way, and she found him to be intelligent as well as pleasant to converse with. When they reached Kaiba Corp., he helped her out and told her that someone would be awaiting her in the lobby before driving away. 'Well, this is it. Whether this goes well or not, at least, I'll have something interesting to tell Zigfried tonight.' She took a deep breath and proceeded inside, immediately seeing Mokuba waiting for her by the elevators; he waved enthusiastically in greeting. Mokuba pressed the up arrow on the elevator marked private instead of the elevator they had taken the day before, and the door instantly slid open. He gestured for her to enter and followed her in; this elevator had a card reader where there was supposed to have the floor numbers. Mokuba pulled an ID card out of his pocked and swiped it through the card reader.

"Good morning, Mokuba, and who is our guest?"

"Just take us to Seto's office, KCAIS."

As he finished speaking, the elevator slid smoothly into action.

"Case?"

"Well, actually it's KCAIS spelled "K-C-A-I-S"; it stands for Kaiba Corporation Artificially Intelligent System. She's everywhere in this building, and as you can see, she's got her own personality."

"Oh."

In her mind, she was thinking of Zigfriend's own computer network, SAIN.

"Well, anyway, we're here. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

He opened the door into the office and gestured for her to enter, shutting the door firmly behind her; she sat down in the chair placed in front of Seto's desk and waited for his arrival. Another door on the side of the office abruptly swung inwards, and there stood Seto Kaiba.

"It seems my staff forgot to get your age and last name during your testing, and Mokuba didn't know it either," he said without preamble.

"Oh, I'm seventeen, and my last name is Mirina; you really don't waste any time, do you?"

He ignored her question, instead, opening a file and setting it on his desk in front of him, where he made a notation in it, and then turned his piercing gaze back onto her.

"Mirina, the same twelve year old Astra Mirina that appeared out of nowhere and took second in the European dueling championship almost six years ago? The same one who was the chosen spokesperson of Schroeder Corp. for two years after that, and then just dropped from sight?"

Astra was a little uncomfortable under his intense gaze, but she answered calmly nonetheless; this was not her first interview. Neither was it her first interview with a high ranking official.

"Yes, that's me; at least, that was me. That was my last duel; I retired right after that and no longer duel."

They were both silent for a few moments.

"What do you know of Zigfried von Schroeder," Seto abruptly asked.

This question was uttered with such anger and disgust that she was thrown off and didn't answer for a full minute.

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