The place was like a daycare, with children everywhere.
He shared a room with six small boys who all seemed very scared.
Their parents all had left them, they had no place to go
They were all the same, these children,
alone and without hope.
They sometimes tried to talk with him,
They sometimes tried to play
But he would never take the time to hear the things they'd say.
He WANTED to be lonely.
He WANTED to be sad.
Maybe then he would feel better…
But right now he just felt mad.
O
She walked into homeroom that morning feeling tired and unfulfilled.
Damn that Kaiba! she thought angrily. It had been nearly eleven by the time she'd finished his blasted sorting. Almost seven hours later. Even then he'd seemed reluctant to let her go until he noticed how exhausted and out of sorts she'd looked. She hadn't eaten since her lunch at school, and she'd felt as though she were literally two seconds away from fainting.
"Fine then!" he'd exclaimed irritated. "Just go. It's obvious you won't be any help to me in this condition."
And he'd disgustedly let her leave. She should have been relieved at the dismissal; instead she found herself feeling small and insignificant. It was fast becoming obvious that her boss was not a nice man. Not that he'd been being nice as she later realized. It had been pitch black when she'd gotten outside, and she'd had to walk home by herself in the dark, in an unfamiliar country, which had been no great experience. To make matters worse, her parents and little brother were all asleep by the time she got home, so she had no one to tell about her first day of work and school.
She just hoped it wouldn't be like that every day.
She took her seat next to Ryou, who was gazing dreamily out the window. Everyone else was either in groups or gathered around tables talking. Yawning, she put her head on her desk and closed her eyes. At least she'd get to doze a bit before class, she thought wearily.
No such luck.
She was startled awake by a faint cry beside her, and without getting up, she peeked through her tendrils of wavy hair. She should have known she wouldn't get any sleep here of all places. Back in the US, in Georgia, the students would gather in the hallways and at their lockers to socialize, making a mad dash for the classroom at the sound of the bell. Here, the students seemed to congregate in the classroom, and the hallways were all but bare. It was…strange. The students here seemed to take things a lot more seriously than her classmates back in the US, and were, in many ways, more mature and eager to learn.
Still what she saw through her strands of hair unsettled her. Surrounding Ryou's desk were three large boys. Three intimidatingly large boys. There were talking to the pale boy in hushed tones, completely masking his slight form by their bodies. After a moment she closed her eyes again, unconcerned. They were probably just his friends. Or maybe he was doing a project with them in another class or something. Regardless, it wasn't any of her business, she thought grumpily. He'd made it clear that he wasn't after her friendship. After a few moments, the boys drifted away, and she caught a glimpse of Ryou's face, peaked and as pale as his hair. He lowered his head, a curtain of albino locks hanging limply into his face.
She frowned, about to ask if he was okay when her peripheral vision caught sight of another person. He was across the room, about two rows ahead of her own.
But it can't be…!
His face was profiled, staring down into a novel, but there was no mistaking that straight rigid outline, the chestnut hair that curled boyishly at the nape of his neck. As if sensing her stare he glanced up, cobalt blue eyes assessing her calmly before going dismissively back to his book.
Mr. Kaiba?!
He was a student. A child, perhaps a year or two older than herself. She felt anger well up inside her like smoke, clouding her dark eyes. Her boss, arrogant, mean boss was…a student? Certainly he had looked young. The fact had not escaped her during the interview. She'd assumed he was just one of those men who aged well, who was perhaps in his mid twenties or so. Or something. Never could she have imagined this…! It made her angry, furious even, to know that some sixteen year old kid had the legal right to order her around, to treat her like crap. Which was what he was- a kid. No matter how old he acted, how mature he seemed to appear, he was just a kid. Just like her.
What kind of country is this?, she wondered crossly. And before she even realized what she was doing, she'd pushed back her chair, it's metal legs scraping roughly against the hard floor. Vaguely her mind issued out a warning, begged her not to bother him.
You don't know what he's capable of...he could crush you!
And she knew it. Here was a man, a boy who didn't play around. She could hear it in his voice, see it in his stance, in his eyes. In the snatches of phone conversation she'd heard from him. Heck, he scared her, truth be told, although she didn't know why. But still she maneuvered her way carefully around Ryou's desk, squeezed her small frame between the closely set desks and continued towards him.
Perhaps it was pride. She'd been born and breed in America, taught that everyone was equals. Taught to stand up to bullies, taught that she could do anything she set her mind to…She'd never had to take orders from a kid before, and no matter how much his actions belied the fact, that was what he was. A kid. Like her.
And she knew she would regret this moment.
Nadie stopped in front of his desk, hands stiffly clasped in front of her in the respectful Japanese gesture she'd seen the other females use. She forced a small smile onto her face, a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Hello Seto."
Not hello 'Seto-san' or 'Mr. Kaiba', or even Seto-kun. Just Seto. She was tired of all those suffixes. Besides, She wasn't Japanese; why should she use them?
He didn't look up from his book, but she noticed with a certain satisfaction that his jaw seemed to clinch.
"Good morning," he murmured stiffly. She smiled.
"I didn't know you went to this school! I didn't know you went to school at all. I mean, you just seem so much older and stuff." he didn't answer, his face tightly controlled as he carefully turned a page. She felt giddy triumph bubble through her. He wasn't glaring or calling her stupid or doing anything. She wondered why. Did he just not want to make a scene? Or maybe he couldn't. Maybe in school, he had to act like a student. Maybe that was it. He did have a reputation to uphold after all. It wouldn't do to have the world knowing you were some pricky bastard. But somehow she doubted that that would matter to him much.
She reached out a hand, tilting the book back to view its cover. Of course, it was written in japanese so she couldn't read it, but she pretended she could anyway. She made a polite noise of interest, and she could feel the air around her thicken with fury.
She almost laughed.
"I'm sorry," she exclaimed, eyes twinkling with mischief, "you just didn't strike me as the type to read that sort of thing." He couldn't fire her for just talking to him outside the workplace she was sure, and apparently he knew this. His grip tightened on the book, white knuckled and his blue eyes flashed up at her in icy rage. But suddenly they drooped, his fingers loosened, and the corners of his lips tugged upward into a smirk.
"That's funny," he replied softly closing the book, "because you struck me as exactly the type to make senseless conversation."
She stared down at him with surprised indignation, and then his eyes lifted to her own. They were darker now, a strange shade, somewhere between cobalt and a deep smoky blue. They kind of blue the sky turned just before a terrible storm erupted. And there was no mistaking the cold glint in their depths, the icy acceptance that shone there. She had unconsciously challenged him.
And he'd accepted.
It didn't matter that she didn't know the rules of the game, that she was new to this territory. She was now a player, and she suddenly felt cold regret wash over her like a flood.
Omigod.
What had she done? She hadn't meant for this to happen…hadn't wanted to take it this far. What HAD she been thinking in the first place? All she remembered was anger at the fact that he could treat her like crap, despite being the same age. Anger and embarrassment. She'd been calling him SIR after all, and he had never corrected her, he had seemed to expect it, actually. But now she regretted it. She wanted to call back her words, wanted to call back time so that this whole little confrontation of hers had never taken place. But hindsight was 20/20, and it was too late.
But when? How had she lost control? And did she ever have it? She could almost read his thoughts, and looking down into his now coldly amused eyes, she guessed no.
Yes. She would pay dearly for this.
His eyes abruptly left her own and he stood, face going blank, as did the rest of the class. She heard the scrap of their chairs against the hard floor. But...when had everyone gotten back to their seats? Had time flown that quickly? Her mind was in a muddle. In confusion she turned, meeting with the sharp gaze of the instructor.
He glared.
"Ms. Epps, please take your seat. And in the future, you are to be at your desk and rise when I enter." his voice held firm resolution. Had she not been new, she probably would have gotten detention. She rushed back to her seat blushing, trying to ignore the low snickers and giggles around her.
"I- I'm sorry..I didn't know..."
The instructor sighed.
"Don't let it happen again. I won't tolerate disturbances."
She was glad when they left for first block.
She hurriedly gathered her things, all the while keeping her eyes carefully lowered. As she walked out the door she felt a sudden sharp tap on her shoulder.
Kaiba! Her mind screamed. But when she slowly turned to meet those cold blue eyes, a pair of mischievous hazel ones greeted her instead. Mischievous hazel eyes that were barely visible beneath unruly straw colored hair.
"Hey! New girl! You better watch out there, or you'll be as hated by the instructor as I am!" And he'd laughed, sauntering lazily off into the crowd of students. She would have smiled if she hadn't felt so...doomed. Instead she only shook her head, hurrying for her next class. She couldn't afford another outing with a teacher.
She rushed in, choosing a seat near the front and settling in. She just hoped he didn't walk in.
You deserved it...you brought it on yourself! The thought did little to comfort her. She took out her book, preparing for another day of rhetorical writing. Fortunately writing was one of her favorite classes. UNfortunately, today she was far too strung up to enjoy it. The teacher shut the door and walked back over to the middle of the room, opening her mouth to speak when the door suddenly flew open, slamming against the wall. Nadie turned sharp eyes towards the figure in the door way...to a boy.
Not Kaiba, she noted with relief. It was that blonde guy from earlier. He looked sheepishly over at the teacher, who was freezing him with a death glare.
"I'm late." he stated simply and the class snickered.
"That's quite obvious Katsuya," she replied dryly." But why are you late?" He shrugged, heading down the rows towards the back of the class.
"What was it THIS time Jonouchi...?" the teacher continued in annoyance, "Was it the pirates? Or maybe the aliens abducted you again?" at this, the class erupted into full scale laughter. The boy didn't seem to mind though. Apparently this was normal.
"Nah," he exclaimed calmly, dropping lazily into a seat, "I just had to use the bathroom." The class roared even louder, and he blushed slightly, throwing a hand behind his neck in a gesture of innocent embarrassment. The teacher shook her head, throwing her hands into the air.
"I swear. If you weren't such a great writer..." He frowned.
"Hey! Not so loud. People could get the wrong idea!" he straightened in his chair.
"What…that there's actually a brain in that head of yours?" another student replied. The class laughed again while the boy pretended to pout. Even Nadie smiled a bit. That guy must be the class clown. Obviously this class was less strict than the others. The environment was easy going, and everyone seemed relaxed. Even the teacher lacked the prim strictness of the other instructors. She left the class an hour later feeling considerably better. She didn't see Kaiba for the remainder of the period, and when it was time for lunch, she was actually looking forward to seeing Ryou. Granted he didn't talk much, but today she didn't feel much like talking anyway.
The tree was empty when she arrived, so she settled down and began on her sandwich. However, after about 10 minutes, she still hadn't seen the boy. Perhaps he didn't eat here every day. Maybe it was just a one time thing. She frowned. But that couldn't be right. He'd seemed so comfortable, so used to sitting here.
Maybe he just doesn't want to sit with me… The thought disappointed her. She hated to think that he was avoiding her, but it was obviously the case. Maybe he really did like to be alone. She sighed, peaking down at her watch and standing. Her wonderful new life was beginning to go horribly bad.
As the school day drew to a close and the clock ticked closer and closer to 3:50, she felt dread fill her. She'd have to face Kaiba today. Not to mention run the entire way there. She wondered how Kaiba managed to get there so fast, considering the fact that he went to the same school as her. Maybe he got special permission to leave early or something. He was rich. He probably had a car. She made a mental note to ride her bike tomorrow.
When the bell rang, she found herself walking slowly towards the exit. It was stupid, really. Why was she doing this to herself? The most he could possibly do to her was fire her, and that in itself wouldn't be such a loss...well, actually it would. It was the highest paying job she'd ever had, and probably the best job she would snag at any age in a foreign country. But with a boss from hell, was it really worth it?
She decided it was.
After all, what could he do? He had to abide by laws just like everyone else. He couldn't physically hurt her… at least, she didn't think he could. He was just bluffing; trying to intimidate her.
And yet, that look in his eyes had been anything but a bluff.
She decided to throw her resolution to the wind. It never got her anywhere. She'd just go and see what happened. If he fired her, she'd have the opportunity to tell him off, to tell him what she really thought of him, the bastard. And if not, if he didn't fire her…well, then she'd definitely be more careful from now on. And with that, she sprinted the rest of the way there, pausing just outside his doorway to catch her breath. She wanted to seem as calm and collected as he did when she entered. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked in.
It was empty.
She frowned. Had she walked in the wrong room? All the hallways and doors looked relatively the same on the upper floors. But looking over at his large redwood desk and the huge Stetson windows, she knew that this was it. But then, where was he? Perhaps he was in a meeting or something. Or maybe he hadn't gotten back from school yet, though he didn't strike her as the type to be late for anything.
She had just begun to walk towards his desk when the door slammed shut behind her.
Startled, she spun around, meeting with those cold cobalt eyes. They were like an icy shock, like stepping into a cold shower early in the morning. They were darker now, she noted nervously. Much darker then they had appeared at the school. He studied her silently for a moment, his eyes never leaving her own.
It was strange; She'd expected him to yell, to rant, maybe fire her on the spot. But he did none of this. Just stood there in front of the door with an oddly blank expression on his face.
And then he smiled.
And suddenly she was very nervous.
o
A/N: Many thanks to Death 101 - Fox Version for pointing out the error on Jonouchi's eye color. The problem has been rectified. Thanks again!