Here's chapter 7! A little more action, although short, hopefully a good read! Thank you to my reviewers!
I just thought of something and laughed. There's like five different plots going on in here! Hehe! All of my friends accuse me of trying to over-achieve by cramming quite a few plots into some of my stories and I think I did it again! Hehehe!
Disclaimer: I do not own… but I SO WISH I DID! sigh but read and review anyway!
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Seto stepped into the school courtyard and spotted Shizuka. Through all of his morning classes, for some reason, he had looked forward to seeing her. His thoughts wandered through the four or so hours, as his teachers had acknowledged.
Her face-- it just kept appearing in his mind. Her gentle smile; her large, sweet eyes; her fragile frame, it all kept replaying in his mind.
After she had normalized his mussed hair, she straightened his tie for him. He could still almost feel her delicate fingers as they accidentally brushed against his collarbone. Her hands were so gentle, so loving… in fact, her entire self seemed to be a wonderful, loving person. The way she had helped him reach a decision over Mokuba-- she was almost motherly, but at the same time was just a young woman. It didn't make sense-- none of it made sense anymore.
Why… what… was he somehow attracted to her? It sounded almost ridiculous! He-- THE Seto Kaiba-- had never fallen in love; he had never felt anything but towards his brother and himself. But could he--
"Oi, hello, Seto-senpai." Shizuka said, offering a warm smile. Seto self consciously shoved a longing to sweep her windblown hair gently out of her face.
"Hello." He grunted as he sat down next to her.
Shizuka turned away as she tried to hide her blush,
"A-Are you feeling better now, Seto-senpai?" She asked softly.
The man chuckled and sent Shizuka's heart a flutter. She felt her breath come short as his soft, warm laugh tickled her ears soothingly.
"Yes, I'm fine now." Seto said, looking to the blue sky. A passing bird chirped in the calm breeze, "I… I never thanked you properly." He said in a hushed tone.
Shizuka glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His skin had returned to it's normal colour, the bags were gone and his eyes were clear. The stubble remained, though, and secretly… Shizuka thought it to be handsome on his strong features. He was usually so clean cut-- but with a bit of a five o' clock shadow, he seemed more free.
"Thank you." Kaiba said as he looked over at her. Their gazes caught once again and held for only but a moment. Shizuka finally cut the gaze off as she stared down at her hands clutched in her lap with a blush on her face.
"C'mon, Jou, you've gotta choose where you're taking me to dinner tonight!" Mai said angrily as she dragged him down the hall. He happened to glance out the window and saw something that he believed only existed in his nightmares-- was that Shizuka and Kaiba together!?
"Mai, Mai, please! Hold on a sec! I just--" Jouinichi cried as he tried to pull himself away from the mean blonde's grip.
"No, Jou! I want a nice date and you are going to plan it if it kills you!" Mai said forcefully as she dragged the squirming high school boy down the hall.
"There-- right there! I told you, Breanne!" The blonde whispered to the baked-skin girl as she pointed out the window.
The brunette growled,
"Who does that little-- that little sophomore think she is!? Moving in on our territory-- Hmmph!" The dark skinned girl said angrily.
The blonde chuckled and the brunette glanced over at her,
"What are you going to do, Jaquie?" she asked the blonde.
Jaquie sneered and raised an eyebrow,
"You go get Rilie and Taylore, I'll go get Sera and Laurie. Then I'll tell you the plan."
Breanne grinned,
"I love when you have a plan!" she said as she skipped off in search of their followers.
Seto looked up as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. He sighed,
"Well, then, I guess I'll see you later…" he said as he stood brushed himself off.
Shizuka blushed and smiled,
"Alright… see you…" Seto nodded and made his way inside the building.
Shizuka took a moment to close her eyes and gather her feelings. It was so-- so exhilarating to speak to THE Seto Kaiba! His voice-- his face--
"Hey, you." Shizuka's eyes shot open and was immediately faced with six girls, two in front with their hands on their hips and smirks on their faces and four behind with their arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
Shizuka glanced between the girls,
"Um… yes…?"
"You're Shizuka Kawaii." The gypsy-looking girl stated rather than asked.
Shizuka slowly nodded her head,
"Yes… that's me…"
"Look," the blonde said with a superior scowl,
"Just stay away from him."
"Him?" Shizuka asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"Stay away from our Seto-kun." Jaquie said through laser-whitened clenched teeth,
"My girls and I don't want to see you even step near him. Got it?"
Shizuka was silent as she stared up at the blonde girl.
"Leave him alone, or you'll be miserable for the rest of your time here." Breanne said menacingly.
Jaquie snapped her fingers and the six turned their noses to the air and began toward the door. As the rest entered, though, the blonde paused and turned back to the redhead,
"That was our friendly warning. We'll be watching you. One false move, and you're toast." With a cackle, the blonde departed.
The second bell rang through Shizuka's ears as she felt frozen. Did those girls actually think she posed a threat to them? She shook her head, gathered up her things and quickly ran to class.
The rest of the school day seemed to be a blur and Shizuka found herself being pushed and shoved through the halls by the many students who occupied Domino High. It felt as if the final bell had run five hours early to her.
She managed to make it to her locker and got the books and papers she needed. She headed to the door of the school and finally was out in the fresh air once again.
She looked around for Jouinichi but then remembered that he and Mai were going out after school and most likely wouldn't be home until late. She began to feel a bit downhearted as she realized she would have to walk home alone again.
Although she had attended Domino for quite a few weeks, she hadn't made very many new friends. There was that one girl-- Yukina, was it?-- that she had met in Science… but that was just a casual "Hi" friendship. Truth be told, she wasn't very at making friends. So many teenagers were either all caught up in their relationships or were all so shallow and only wanted to laugh and watch movies and then make fun of people.
Occasionally, she looked at one of the popular girls and wished for a moment that she could be like them But why? Those girls were just clones… why did people-- specifically guys-- like them? As long as she was in the same room as one of those airbrushed divas, she was invisible to the average high school boy's eye. When she got home, she would always look in the mirror and criticize herself cruelly.
"Why don't you have big blue eyes or dark skin!?"
"Shizuka-san." Shizuka broke out of her thoughts, turned sharply, and found herself face-to-face (or maybe face-to-broad-chest would be more fitting) once again with the drop-dead-gorgeous billionaire.
"H-H-hi." She stammered as she looked far up to his face.
"Is your brother walking you home?" he asked. Shizuka slowly shook her head no.
Kaiba paused and smiled a small bit,
"Would you like a ride home, then?" He asked.
Shizuka would have readily said yes, but the clique's words came back to her.
That was our friendly warning. We'll be watching you. One false move, and you're toast.
Shizuka swallowed and looked down at her shiny black shoes,
"Ah… no… that's fine, Seto-senpai… besides, it's the opposite way of Kaiba mansion."
Seto scoffed quietly,
"Like I need to save money on gasoline or something." he chuckled softly, but then seemed to remember something. He rubbed the back of his neck, "I forgot some homework… are you sure you don't want a ride?"
Shizuka nodded regretfully,
"Yes… I'll be fine… thank you, though." The man nodded and hurried back inside.
"Well, well, well." Shizuka spun back around and found the six just at the bottom of the stairs and the blonde and brunette approaching her. Shizuka's breath caught in her throat as she tried to back away.
"Awww." the blonde said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Don't you worry." she reached the top step and stood face to face with the cowering redhead, "Come here." she said, motioning for her to come closer.
Shizuka hesitantly took a step forward, her hands shaking and her knuckles white as she clutched her book bag to her chest. The two glossy girls stepped up to her,
"Final warning. You absolutely avoid Seto-kun." brunette Breanne said, narrowing her eyes.
"That's right," blonde Jaquie said, "That's strike two. One more strike and-- oops. You're out." The two turned back to the other four waiting at the bottom of the stairs, "Let's go girls." she said as the two started down the stairs but paused.
"One more thing." they said together as they grabbed the redhead's arms and hurled her down the staircase, the four followers scattering so that Shizuka fell roughly to the pavement.
"Let's call that a down payment." The brunette said cockily, "I'm sure we'll see you soon enough. Ciao."
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Thank you all for your support! Sorry that it's been awhile since I published last; it's been a long week. Ah, if I only had the brain enough to figure it all out. Heh.
Thank you to everyone who's reviewed! I heart you!
Mysteria Pearl