The Job

Disclaimer: I don't own Boys over Flowers, Yugioh, Stargate SG1 and Rurouni Kenshin.

The Rurouni Kenshin characters used here are crossed over from my AU stories "To be the Strongest" (Aoshi's story and where he and Seto first meet); "The place where I belong" (Tokio's story); "Think of Me" (Saito's story) and "I want to be a Princess" (Misao's story where Misao and Mokuba become friends). I don't know if anyone reading this is familiar with Rurouni Kenshin but in fact the only OC in ALL of my stories is in fact Victoria the means by which all my stories are tied together.

BTW if you're not familiar with Rurouni Kenshin PLEASE read it! If you loved Hana Yori Dango you will LOVE Rurouni Kenshin Wandering Samurai! Please pick up the first volume! It's written by Nobuhiro Watsuki and I guarantee you will be back for the remaining 27 volumes! You will not be able to put it down! I never cared much for period piece or historically based fiction (especially those based on Meiji era Japan or Samurai which I knew nothing about) but after Kenshin I was reborn! Trust me!

Oh Paerin ya know I didn't realize I was doing that! I was trying to show that most of the time she was yelling or speaking very loudly (after all Mokuba can hear her all the way from the other side of the conference room!)…didn't know how else to show it…still don't in fact but if you have any ideas please let me know your comments made me pause and think of other possibilities which I've implemented here but I don't know if they work yet.

Besides if you ask my friends I actually speak like that most of the time…especially when I'm drunk and I confess I was a little tipsy when I wrote the first chapters. Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha…

Well on with the show!

Chapter 2: Enter the Dragon…

"Scary Psycho huh? I think I like it," Mr. Kaiba said amused as he joined the ruckus at the door…

He asked what was going on and she proceeded to introduce him to the F4. Seto was completely unimpressed by them. They were useless morons in his book. Even Yugi and the twerps were more interesting than this useless bunch and that really wasn't saying much.

"Better be nice Tsukasa… This guy really doesn't care who we are," pointed out Rui solemnly. Seto rolled his eyes.

"What a bunch of monkeys…" he pointed out sarcastically in that tone that always got Jou riled up! Predictably enough Domyojin got riled up and tried to step up to challenge Seto. Again Seto just rolled his eyes in annoyance. His lack of response only incensed Tsukasa further.

"Alright that's enough with the testosterone overload!" Tsukushi ordered her fists on her hips. She rounded on Tsukasa.

"First of all Tsukasa you shouldn't go around calling people names in their places of business! You're lucky Mr. Kaiba doesn't toss you on your butt out in to the street!" she yelled at him. Seto smirked in slight amusement. He was starting to like the way Tsukushi stood her ground without sounding or looking like a rude ruthless cutthroat.

"Whatever… Kaiba Corp is nothing compared to the Domyojin Conglomerate…" Tsukasa retorted his injured pride forcing him to lash out in the only way he knew. Seto snorted derisively.

"A conglomerate that you have no control over…monkey…" Seto countered again in his unique tone that always got a rise out of hot heads like Tsukasa.

"Again with the name calling!" Tsukushi exclaimed exasperated "I realize that Tsukasa started it Mr. Kaiba but that does not mean you have to reduce yourself to responding in kind," she lectured mildly. Seto blinked in surprise. He laughed no one ever dared to speak to him in such a tone without fearing for their lives or at least their jobs. He was certain she wasn't stupid enough not to know the consequences of crossing him which meant she was truly courageous!

'We'll see how strong you are Ms. Makino…' he thought and grinned to him self as he ignored Tsukasa's glares, mumbled threats and insults.

"Tsukushi calling people names is big brother's second favorite hobby!" Mokuba piped up cheerfully and laughed.

"A rather childish hobby…" Rui pointed out softly eyeing Seto warily. Seto stared right back at him 'well one of them has a brain at least…' he thought and decided he would keep an eye on that one.

"But then I'm just a kid…" Seto replied with mock innocence. The tone had a chilling effect that only served to worry Rui further. Sojiro and Akira shrunk back wary of Seto and his little private army of mercs and said nothing during the whole exchange.

Seto laughed happy to be in control of the situation. It didn't matter that the F4 had more money than he did and it was true that the only company that could rival Domyojin right now was Shinomori Electronics Corp in Japan and Stillwater Enterprises in the US. But the one wielding the real power right here right now was him: Seto Kaiba the Dragon Lord of Kaiba Crop! Thus nicknamed for his obsession with dragons…

'And that's just the way I like it,' Seto thought to himself feeling triumphant then turned a serious look on Tsukushi.

"I won't be in the office until after lunch tomorrow and Mokuba will be picked up by Aoshi and Misao after school. He will spend the weekend with them," he intoned gravely.

"Please give Mr. Shinomori my regards and please tell him that I'll write soon to thank him Mr. Kaiba," she replied amicably trying not to laugh at the slightly pale look on Rui's face at the mention of Shinomori. Seto smirked slightly.

"I wouldn't write that thank you note just yet Ms. Makino but sure I'll give Aoshi your regards… I trust my company won't fall apart while I'm gone right Ms. Makino?" he taunted lightly. Tsukushi drew herself up proudly.

"Of course not… Everything will be just fine when you return Mr. Kaiba," she replied seriously. He smirked slightly and putting an arm around his little brother he, Mokuba and Roland plus two more bodyguards got in the elevator. They all left without another word except for Mokuba who called a cheerful good bye to Tsukushi and stuck his tongue out in child like fashion to Tsukasa. Tsukushi laughed and winked at Mokuba as the doors to the elevator closed.

"All right! Go get your stuff! We're heading back to Tokyo!" Tsukasa ordered roughly. Tsukushi gave him a stern look and turned towards her office.

"I will not go back…This job is a great opportunity and I refuse to pass it up," she replied calmly as they all walked back to her office. Sojiro and Akira slipped away to go hit on Lynn who was gathering her things to go home for the day. Rui followed quietly and Tsukasa continued to argue that working for Kaiba was dangerous as they entered her new spacious office.

"It can't be any more dangerous than going to school while being targeted by the F4!" Tsukushi yelled at him finally tired of listening to his warnings leveling Tsukasa with a challenging glare. Rui put a firm hand on Tsukasa's shoulder.

"Tsukasa I think Tsukushi can handle this… she will be fine," he interjected calmly giving Tsukushi an encouraging smile.

"It's a mistake!" Tsukasa insisted stubbornly but the edge of anger that was on his voice before was gone now.

"If it is then it is my mistake to make but I know this is the place for me Tsukasa," she added tiredly "just trust me…"

Rui smirked and nodded looking straight into her eyes. Tsukasa grumbled a little but finally relented. Sojiro and Akira returned saying that Lynn had totally shot them down all with a polite smile on her pretty face. Tsukushi laughed along with Rui and Tsukasa and just like that they were her usual bunch of eclectic friends again.

Lynn came into her office to let her know she was leaving and that she'd start looking for a secretary for her tomorrow. She already had a couple of interviews set up for tomorrow morning. Relieved of the double duties Lynn was turning out to be an awesome secretary! She was glad she'd had that screaming match with Roland earlier. She had a feeling Lynn would be a great asset and an excellent ally to have. She laughed as Lynn with extreme politeness slammed the door on Akira's attempts to seduce her again and walked away.

'This is my destiny I know it…' she thought happily as she gathered her new laptop – another gift from Mr. Kaiba – and her electronic agenda. She was a little surprised to see two bodyguards at her door informing her that they were her security detail assigned by Mr. Kaiba.

"Our job is to see that you get to and from home and the office safely each day Ms. Makino," intoned seriously as his partner studied the four men in Tsukushi's office with suspicion. She laughed as Tsukasa grumbled angrily at the bodyguard studying him protesting that he was not a criminal and did not deserve to be watched like he was one.

"Your car is waiting for you downstairs Ms. Makino if you are ready," he concluded handing her keys to her new apartment. She smiled as the second bodyguard moved in solemnly and shouldered her briefcase and her laptop bag then waited for her to be ready to leave.

'COOL!' she thought feeling like she was on top of the world!

"Well look at Tsukushi! She's top dog now," Sojiro declared with a proud smile getting up from the couch in her office to put an arm around her shoulders.

"You go Tsukushi!" cheered Akira. Tsukasa still didn't look happy but didn't say anything.

"Ok let's go see my apartment guys!" she invited cheerfully and walked out with her new mini entourage…

As the door to the elevator closed Seto pondered his choice of new E.A. She was very different from the females he was accustomed to dealing with until recently. Most of the ones he'd dealt with before we're either: useless ditzes, patronizing morons or ruthless psychos. But as soon as he met Aoshi and his friends he realized there was another type out there.

'I guess they're not all ditzy cheerleaders like Anzu or ruthless cutthroats like Mai…' he said to himself finding that thought somewhat comforting.

"Do you have to go to school tomorrow big brother?" Mokuba asked interrupting his train of thought.

"Yes Mokuba…Sensei insists I start going once a week…" he replied with a resigned sigh explaining his new teacher wanted him to experience high school. Mokuba merely smiled cheerfully and asked no further questions.

'Now there's another odd female!' Seto thought of his new martial arts teacher. Victoria Stillwater the owner/CEO of Victoria's Secret and Stillwater Enterprises was a famous model from the late sixties and early seventies who had launched a revolutionary line of lingerie that was renowned the world over. Every woman in the world coveted fashions made by "Victoria's Secret"; every man in the world coveted her very famous catalogue.

What few people knew was that it was she who taught Aoshi and his friends martial arts. It was she who guided Aoshi and his friends to victory in the Olympics of 96. It was she who helped Aoshi take down Gozaburo's partner: Kanryu Takeda and their black market arms dealing empire just months before Seto staged his coup against Gozaburo.

Few people really understood how dangerous she was until they got on her bad side. Her eyes were possessed of an intelligence that was matched only by her astonishing physical beauty despite her age. She certainly didn't appear to be someone in her late fifties or early sixties! She was an easy person to underestimate because of how elegant and poised she was and how wise and maternal she was most of the time but after meeting her Seto knew better than to doubt her ability.

'I want their power!' he thought greedily as they got into their limo. Yes the woman oozed power and so did all of her top students. One of which he had now recently become. He would do whatever it took to have what Aoshi Shinomori, Kenshin Himura and Sano Sagara had already acquired. He flinched slightly as he realized this weekend would be filled with difficult physical challenges and strange tasks.

"She's a hard taskmaster but for every task you complete successfully you come that much closer to achieving your goal of being The Strongest!"

Thus had been Aoshi's sage advice when Seto accepted to become her student. When he had questioned why his first lesson would come from Sano Sagara and it would be on how to surf Aoshi had advised not to question her because all of it in the end would make him a greater man. He had thrown himself whole heartedly into Sano's lesson and surfing proved to be a more challenging sport than he had initially thought.

'And exhilarating in it's element of danger,' he thought as he looked out the window recalling the adrenaline rush of riding his first wave. Mokuba was on the phone talking to Misao again. It was now something of a daily ritual but Seto didn't mind.

'Yet another odd female or perhaps the psychos, the ditzes and the morons are the odd ones?' he wondered suddenly smirking amused. Misao Makimachi – fiancée of Aoshi Shinomori – was no blushing bride or ditzy cheerleader because she was also a one of Victoria Stillwater's top students.

'No…I would never underestimate her!' he thought recalling what he knew about the petit woman.

"Hey Mokuba ask her what she and Aoshi know about the F4. Didn't she date one of them high school?" he thought out loud. He laughed as within seconds he could hear Misao screaming what bunch of moronic over indulged quartet of idiots the F4 were. Mokuba looked alarmed for a moment then Misao calmed and as the two talked Mokuba was soon howling in laughter. His phone rang and he instantly recognized the number though it did not have a name attached to it on his caller id.

"Hey Aoshi…"

"So you met the F4…" Aoshi began a hint of amusement in his usually stoic voice.

"Yes and they're a bunch of morons…" Seto added with equal amusement.

"Agreed…however Sensei says they might be useful in the future…" Aoshi replied though he could hear the doubt in the older man's voice.

"Really? Now there's a surprise…" Seto added intrigued. Domyojin was predictable and seemed easy to manipulate perhaps in the alliance Sensei had planned Domyojin could be a useful partner. Perhaps that was her plan his new teacher was extremely good at getting whatever she wanted but he would hold speculation for now. Aoshi changed the subject and explained that Misao had indeed dated Rui Hanazawa one summer during high school.

However Hanazawa had a tendency to ignore the girl he was with if she did not immediately surrender to his sexual desires. So since Misao didn't quickly jump into bed with him he fell asleep while she was talking. Incensed Misao beat the crap out of him to teach him a lesson about being respectful of the person that you are dating.

"Well I bet he didn't get a second date!" Seto laughed and his admiration for Misao went up another notch.

"No he most certainly did not and he and the F4 were persona non-grata at the Aoiya restaurant in Tokyo and in Kyoto unless accompanied by their parents until last year," Aoshi added and chuckled slightly. The Aoiya chain of restaurants was a very high-class chain of Japanese restaurants that Misao's family owned. There were three in Japan, three in the USA and four more in Europe with plans of further expansion in the US, Asia and Australia.

"I wonder since Ms. Makino is here if they'll be banned from the Domino Aoiya!" Seto laughed infering from Tsukushi's record that the F4 would be a common sight in Domino since she was here.

"There is a very good chance of that," Aoshi answered again chuckling slightly as he explained Misao's uncle owned and operated that one and her uncles were extremely overzealous in their protection of Misao and held grudges for very long periods of time. Seto laughed wishing he could see the looks on their faces when they were not admitted. The limo finally arrived at the Kaiba Mansion and as they cemented their plans for the next day he hung up his phone. Mokuba continued to chatter on incessantly with Misao as he got out and it wasn't until Seto finally told him it was time for dinner that Mokuba actually said good night and hung up his phone.

Mokuba talked and talked at dinner time informing him of everything he'd learned about Tsukushi and her friends. He talked also about how he looked forward to spending the weekend in Kyoto helping Misao with preparations. Apparently Mokuba had some important part to play at the wedding. According to Mokuba there would be two separate ceremonies: a traditional Japanese ceremony in Kyoto on Valentine's Day and a western style one in Colorado the next week because Aoshi's stepbrother Hajime and his family can't make the long trip to Japan with their new born baby.

"I'm still not sure we can go to both of them Mokuba," he replied solemnly. The look of disappointment his little brother gave him snapped his heart in two. Yes contrary to what anyone – especially Anzu – said he did have one and Mokuba was currently the only person on earth capable of affecting it! He sighed heavily resigned to letting his little brother have his way…partially at least!

"Let me amend that: I'm not sure that I can go to both of them," he corrected tiredly. He explained that there was much work to do at Kaiba Corp and his new training was taking a lot of time away from work.

"But Tsukushi… I know she can help you!" Mokuba protested with a pleading look in his eyes that almost crumbled Seto's resolve. Almost…

"Mokuba just because she shows more promise than her predecessors that doesn't mean she'll be around long enough or be ready to take over if I'm gone for a long period of time by then," he explained seriously. Mokuba completely deflated and he cast his eyes down to his plate picking halfheartedly at his food.

"I understand big brother…" he sighed dejectedly. They continued to eat in silence and Mokuba did not look up once from his plate and his usually cheerful dinner time chatter completely stopped. Seto had not realized how hard this news would hit his little brother. Two years ago he would've cared less if Mokuba stopped talking or dropped dead. In fact he had come very close to killing his little brother for losing a match against Yugi in the Death-T incident two years ago.

But Seto was no longer the murderous out of control psycho he was then in the days before he met Yugi. He still lusted for power to be sure and still had no qualms about killing anyone who endangered his little brother or tried to take his company or his Blue Eyes White Dragons! He still dreamed of winning and being the best but it was no longer a dangerous all consuming fire in him. His fateful acquaintance with Yugi Motou led him to acquire something he had not had before: patience.

"Tell you what Mokuba if Ms. Makino shows that she can preform to my standards in the next two weeks I will go to Colorado," Seto added taking a small measure of satisfaction on the joy and hope this little bargain lit in his brother's eyes.

"She can do it! I can feel it! I know she'll work out good big brother! Woo hoo!" Mokuba whooped and cheered then resumed his happy feasting and chattering. Seto smirked slightly and listened as he ate quietly.

'Well Ms. Makino I hope you really do work out because if you disappoint my little brother it'll cost you more than your job,' he thought with ruthless determination. Yes she was interesting and showed much potential but he would have no problems with squashing her like bug if her failure broke his brother's heart. As Mokuba was finishing his dessert Roland came in to say good night and let him know the perimeter on the Kaiba Estate was secured and locked down for the evening.

"Oh Roland make sure you and your men thank Ms. Makino tomorrow morning," Seto added as Roland was turning to leave. The man gave him a confused look. Mokuba giggled.

"She saved your jobs!" Mokuba piped up cheerfully grinning ear to ear. Roland still looked confused and was opening his mouth to ask but Seto didn't let him.

"I was going to fire you and hand your job to Ms. Hoshizaki because she really was doing a better job than you but I like her better as my secretary so consider this a verbal warning," Seto intoned solemnly. Roland bowed solemnly.

"I understand Mr. Kaiba…it will not happen again," the older man replied gravely looking slightly pale.

"For your sake I hope not," Seto responded finally dismissing his head of security. Mokuba continued to smile and chomped down on the last bit of chocolate pie. He happily skipped on over to his big brother and hugged him before he excused himself to go get ready for bed. Seto watched him go for a moment then got up to go to his home office. There was still much work to be done if he wanted to be free this weekend for his training.

He turned on his computer and was just getting back into his reports when Mokuba walked into the office once more. He looked like he'd just walked out of the shower with his hair still wet and fresh pj's on. Again he sat with his brother and watched him work for a little longer chatting on incessantly then finally tired he hugged his brother once more and said good night. He lost track of time as he worked but when he finally stopped to look at how much work he'd done he decided it was fairly under control for now. He was tired and wanted to get some sleep.

"I'll just check my email then go to bed," he decided opening his personal email which he knew was usually empty save for the odd annoying message from Yugi and the twerps or Mai or sometimes even Aoshi on a very rare occasion and only when it pertained to his training. This time however a new name appeared one he'd actually been looking forward to seeing.

"Another interesting female…" he said softly studying the e-mail's contents intently:

"Hi Seto… Thanks for helping me set up my computer this afternoon. This is the drawing I told you about over the phone I hope you like it.

Cassandra"

That's all the email said but attached to it was a drawing of a majestic red and black dragon. Its black wings were spread out and it crouched on all fours glowering at Seto looking as if it would jump out of the screen and roast him instantly. It was a full color drawing. She had used simple crayons and pencils to create light and darkness effects in a way he hadn't seen come from his art department in much too long for his standards. Its horns gleamed frighteningly in the sunshine and its shadow darkened the grass below it ominously.

"Whoa…" Seto drawled out softly as a little feral smirk tugged at his lips. Cassandra Frasier was a foreign exchange student who had come from Colorado Springs in the USA to do her last semester of high school at Domino High. He had met her last Sunday at Kaiba Land after she trounced several top gamers at a flight simulator game. She had in fact come dangerously close to beating even his top score which was what caught his attention to begin with!

As he talked to the girl he became intrigued with the fact that she was not an airhead like most girls his age but was also not ruthless or abrupt. She was polite without being a suck up. She spoke only to say something intelligent. She had a somewhat dark sense of humor that had appealed to him and best of all when he spoke about his work he didn't have to explain every little detail to her because she was very bright with obviously high academic prowess and superior artistic talent.

"So many interesting people…" Seto thought out loud as he saved the picture on to his hard drive. She had not really needed his help this afternoon all she needed was a download on a graphic design program because her version was outdated. Seto had promised to provide it and help her set it up but Cassandra was able to do it pretty much on her own asking only the occasional technical question. Most of their conversation had been about Cassandra's favorite artistic subject: Dragons!

He finally switched off his computer and stood up. As he made his way back to his room he found himself looking forward to both school tomorrow morning and work in the afternoon. The more he came in contact with people like Aoshi, Tsukushi and Cassandra and heck even the F4 he felt less isolated. He had thought the world full of useless idiots and fearful paid for yes-men and it had made him feel alone and paranoid.

These feelings contributed to the out of control murderous phase he'd been in following the death of Gozaburo Kaiba who jumped out the top story window of the Kaiba Corp building when he lost his company to his adopted son Seto. Now however the chaos that was in his mind then had calmed and the more he learned about people like himself the stronger he felt.

"Yes tomorrow will be a good day…" he thought as he turned off his light…

Ok sorry it's taking so long but this is starting to merge with the Seto story that I have yet to transfer from my note books. I know I got a little Seto heavy in this chapter but I needed to set down where Seto is coming from and how Tsukushi will be affecting him as well as the people and circumstances that will shape their future friendship and business relationship. Hey Wishingstar I haven't decided yet whether Seto will fall for Tsukushi...perhaps a triangle? Stay tuned!

I'm also having a little trouble getting Tsukasa's character right hopefully I'll be able to fix any out of character behavior by the next installment.

Thank you for your patience and for reading and reviewing!