Chapter 2

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Sakura wandered into study hall, hoping the kids from before would keep quiet this time. She took her usual seat and opened her calculus book, starting to work on some of the questions she had to finish. It wasn't long before part of the group filtered in. At least it was the less annoying part of them. She worked and ignored them while more students filled in, and only paused when a certain blue eyed brunette sat to her right. She shot him a half smile and he narrowed his eyes.

It wasn't long before the more annoying half of the group joined the others. Sakura watched as they glared at her and took their seats. She had to try not to laugh, as they were being quiet and if she started a confrontation now, she'd definitely have a headache by the end of it. She completed her work and glanced up at Kaiba. He had been leaning back in his seat and his laptop was closed. It looked like he was sleeping, but she knew better.

She packed up her things and slipped them into her backpack, gazing up at the clock. There were twenty more minutes of class left and she had nothing to do. She looked over at the group and they were playing quietly, shooting her glares and what not.

"Thanks." She said to them. The two boys who had been giving her dirty looks exchanged confused glances while the girl and the short boy smiled and nodded. When she turned back there was a note on her desk.

'$500' Was written on it and she turned to Kaiba, who was watching her intently. She faced him and mouthed the word 'no', making him put on his business face.

"Six hundred?" He whispered leaning in and once again catching the attention of everyone in the class, as was his curse.

"No." She whispered into his face. "What makes you think I'll sell... I mean, six hundred is a lot-" He tsked her and pulled back a bit.

"It's pocket change." He said, trying to sound powerful. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, shaking her head slowly.

"My drawings are worth more than pocket change." she chided and he sighed.

"One thousand." She seemed to start to think it over and he smirked.

"mmmm... no." His smirk faded fast and he breathed out heavily again. She was winning and he couldn't have it.

"With that money you could buy supplies to make hundreds more drawings." He tried as a new approach.

"But the original idea, that's priceless." She was infuriating.

"Five thousand. Final offer." He said, not liking losing, but arguing with her was more complex than he was used to. He really wanted the rights to the picture, but she was as stubborn as he was and he knew the negotiation would be unending if that was true.

"No deal. I'm touched you like it so much though... Why is that?" She asked curiously. He smirked and looked down at his laptop. He clicked it open and began typing on it, ignoring her now that the deal was not going to happen. She shrugged and glanced around the room. The students were beginning to go back to whatever it was they were doing before, and only a handful still watched them, whispering quietly to each other.

The rest of the week flowed by without incident. Kaiba went back to his usual quiet reserved self and Sakura continued to work hard and ignore the outside distractions in the school. It was as if they had never spoken, and neither of them minded much. She did still think about his offer from time to time, and curiosity was beginning to overcome her, but she wouldn't ask. She just continued to focus on things that mattered.

Things at work were getting more busy and Sakura was being trained for some big event taking place in the hotel she worked at. They needed more servers than they had for such events and for the day in question, she would be getting a temporary raise, so she wasn't too put out over it. After school she would get in her new uniform and go straight to work. During breaks she would finish any homework she wasn't able to complete in school. She had no time or room for anything so long as the event took place, so when the Saturday came up, she was relieved.

"So, when the guests start arriving, there is only professionalism. No loitering. No gossiping. No rudeness. You are here to serve them, and make sure they are taken care of, understood?" Mel, the manager, said, starting the day off with one of her infamous 'pep' talks. "Oh, and absolutely no bothering of Mister Kaiba." Sakura glanced up and watched Mel scan them all. She didn't know Kaiba would be there, but already she could tell it would be an issue. The other female servers immediately became excited and whispered among themselves.

"Focus!" Mr. Vierce, the head server and host said, getting frustrated at the childish display going on before him. "We need this to go smoothly and if anything were to happen that would influence Mr. Kaiba's outlook on this place of business negatively, it would be unforgivable." He said eying each one of them.

One of the women from the front desk appeared in the doorway and whispered something to Mel.

"Already? He's nearly a half hour early." She said quietly, but everyone had been listening so intently, she was easily heard. A few of the girls looked excitedly at her, waiting for her orders. Sakura glanced out the window, hoping the next four hours went by quickly and without incident. If she did good enough, maybe they would promote her. She could use the money.

"Ms. Miko." Sakura's eyes shot up at Mel, and she realized what happened. She was selected to manage the staff in between duties. As she scanned the room, she also noticed two male servers joining them up front. She smirked and strode forward. She knew exactly what they were doing. The people in charge of making orders and direct contact with the guests were people not interested in Seto Kaiba, or at least wouldn't annoy the hell out of him. She was given a radio and strict instructions of how to deal with most situations.

"You know the names of the cleaning staff in case a mess should happen?" Mel asked. Apparently she forgot that Sakura was pulled from the cleaning staff to be an extra server.

"Yes ma'am." She said, bowing politely.

"Very good." Mel led the two men, Sakura and Mr. Vierce to the entrance. Kaiba had been waiting at the entrance with two men who seemed to be his security. A quick glance around showed a few more men standing about in obscure locations in the main lobby. As they approached, Kaiba glanced over the group. His gaze lingered on her, letting her know he recognized her, but other than that, she was not acknowledged.

"Welcome, Mr. Kaiba. You're quite early, how prompt." Mel complimented in a happy tone. "Would you like me to take your jacket and suitcase?" she offered, beckoning the boys over to help him. Kaiba shrugged off his long black overcoat and showed off his finely tailored tux. Mel handed them a Key card for a room reserved for holding special guests belongings and they disappeared down the hall.

"I trust the meeting hall is properly decorated." He said, wanting to make sure there were no issues for the night to come. He couldn't leave it solely in their hands. Mel immediately led him into the large room specially prepared for his guests. He inspected every little thing, making sure it was exactly as he specified.

"Is this all to your liking?" She asked him.

"It's fine. Though, just in case, I'm going to request a personal server with authority over the others with me." Mel stopped and glanced between Mr. Vierce and Sakura, then finally leaned down to her.

"When Jason gets back, let him know Mr. Kaiba ha-"

"She'll do." Kaiba said, not willing to wait. Sakura looked up at Mel, who sighed and gave her a stare that said 'if you don't keep professional, you're fired.' Nodding, she approached Kaiba.

"Mokuba will want to take from the dessert cart-" Seto turned to her with raised eyebrow as she cut him off.

"I figured as much when I found out it was your event. The dessert cart will be held in the back until one hour before the end of the event. Each will have a server to distribute the desserts, and the plates used will hold four of them max." She said as her eyes remained averted submissively.

"You thought of this?" She nodded.

"I remember the last event you held, and the... media coverage of your younger brother. That will not happen here." She assured him. "I've also notified the staff to keep an eye out for him and any other member who might become a spectacle." He smirked. She was as diligent in her work as she was in school.

"I would like to reaffirm all allergy reports are taken care of accordingly?" He demanded more than asked, but Sakura knew to expect this. She unclasped the radio Mel had given her from her belt and and pressed a button on the side.

"Joan." She called into it, turning slightly away from Kaiba out of courtesy.

"Kind of busy Sakura." Joan called back into the line.

"I understand, I just need to make sure you have the list of food allergies for what was ordered." She called into it, cutting right to the point.

"Yeah I got it." She replied. Kaiba opened his mouth to say something but Sakura continued.

"I'm going to need a copy of that list to make sure it's the right one please." Kaiba could only stand there with his mouth ajar. It took him months to get secretaries to think ahead and ask the obvious questions that he wanted asked, yet she was doing it better than any of them.

"I'll send Jace up with it. That it?" Joan sounded upset and overburdened. Sakura shot a look at Kaiba and he nodded.

"Thanks, that's all."

"No sweat love." A beep indicated she was off the line and a few moments later Jace entered and handed a two page list to her. She scanned the list's header and found that it was indeed the one faxed from Kaiba corp. She held it out for Kaiba to scan and he leaned over her and peered onto the paper.

"This is correct." He said after a brief look. He started towards the lobby, but turned back to her. "Stay close." He ordered and she took her place a few paces behind him.

The party started almost immediately. There were numerous big names in industry, apparently celebrating the launch of the new battle stadiums for the duel monsters game. Mokuba showed up halfway through, for some reason or another, and had been asking about the dessert trays. Kaiba rolled his eyes and glanced at Sakura. A thought came to mind. She stepped up to the brothers and looked to Kaiba for permission. He didn't know what she was planning, but she had handled the rest of the evening with the kind of precision and thoroughness he requires of upper management, so he nodded.

"Excuse me Mr. Kaiba," She said, bending down to Mokuba. He looked up at her with wide curious eyes. "I have a proposition for you, if you'd like to take a turn being the business man for a second." Mokuba looked up to his big brother and smiled, then nodded excitedly to her. "Well, we have a special kind of dessert that we serve here. We're the only place that has it, but it's not on the menu tonight. If you want, I can have the chef whip you up one, but you have to wait until dessert time. Also, I think the other guests would be jealous, so you might want to eat it in private, in case they," She leaned in closer, speaking into his ear. "Ask you to share." Mokuba's eyes narrowed and he pondered the proposition.

"What is it?" He asked. The type of dessert really did matter. Sakura looked around, as if to make sure no one was looking, then returned to the boy.

"A slice of seven layer chocolate tower cake." She said every word slowly, and his eyes widened with each syllable. He shook his head 'yes' violently, and she rose and brushed past Kaiba. "Low sugar. It's a small piece." She whispered as she passed the elder brother. She could have sworn he wore a smile as he nodded, but she wasn't about to turn back now. She placed the order to an unhappy chef line, promising to pay for it herself and tip generously.

When the time came, Sakura pulled Mokuba off to the side and gave him his own table, visible by Kaiba's but secluded. He stayed there, checking to make sure no one would ask for some of his dessert between every bite. His cautious behavior drew out the actual consumption of the dessert long enough for everyone to finish getting their own and for the dessert servers to wheel the carts away.

Overall the evening went smoothly and guests began excusing themselves. As the men and women filtered out leaving more room to work and breathe, Kaiba pulled Sakura aside.

"I didn't realize you had time to work your way up in this hotel." He said, honestly grateful for her help. He didn't think anyone other than the host and manager would be capable of thinking so smoothly and professionally, especially someone his age.

"I don't. I'm just a maid. They were down two servers and needed an extra." Kaiba raised an eyebrow, unable to believe that and Sakura sighed. "I was placed as an assistant manager for the evening because the only other selections were... fan girls who my boss thought would annoy you." He nodded. It was a good move. Better than the manager could have expected, as she would soon find out. "Um... About your offer... for the drawing..." She tentatively glanced up at him. "I think... I'll accept it, but on one condition." Kaiba smirked. She was beginning to interest him again. But he had to play with her a bit, losing the last battle was just not tolerable.

"How do you know the offer's still on the table?" She looked up at him and did something he had never seen anyone do so quickly. She saw right through him.

"That's right. I guess I can just walk away." She turned to clear some dishes off a table but he took them from her and placed them onto one of the other server's trays.

"What's the condition?" He asked. She was damned good.

"I wanna kn-"

"You're not bothering Mr. Kaiba are you?" Mel appeared behind Sakura, her tone showing obvious displeasure.

"Actually, we're in the middle of a deal. If you don't mind, I prefer to conduct business on a one on one setting." Kaiba said, leveling her with a glare. Mel backed away slowly, bowing respectfully. "Now... Your stipulation?"He turned back to Sakura as if they had never been interrupted.

"I want to know why you want it." She said, less confident now that Mel had shaken her. Kaiba looked around the room and sighed. He started towards a side door he had seen Sakura enter and exit through and motioned for her to follow. Once in the hall alone he turned to her.

"You cant tell the media." He looked down at her intimidatingly and she nodded. "It's for a virtual reality duel monsters game I'm working on,. It's still in the prototype stages, but I need to get the basis for the characters down for their 3d rendering."

"And you want my drawing to be your avatar." He nodded and she looked away and thought for a second.

"That's... Awesome!"

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