Chapter 9

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"Oh, the little car." Sakura said happily as Kaiba led her to the student parking. She enjoyed school, but this was what she was waiting for. Working at Kaiba Corp was so exciting and she felt so important when she was there. It was definitely self esteem boosting. He moved to open the car door for her and she smiled as she seated herself in the passenger spot.

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you." He entered the car and turned the key, starting the ignition.

"Uh oh, you're not breaking up with me are you?" She said playfully. He smirked and she was pleased with herself.

"No, it's about after we graduate." She put on her big girl shoes and got down to business.

"Any plans for Kaiba Corp?"

"Yes, I'm going to be holding a dueling tournament. It'll showcase one of the projects that I'll be finishing up testing in the next two weeks. It should get the company a lot of media."

"Not to mention give you a chance to be champion again." She pointed out. He didn't say anything, but she knew it to be true. It had been one of the things constantly on his mind. "You know, after all the things you've created and made possible through that game, don't you get bored with it sometimes?"

"No." She could tell it was a touchy subject, and he knew where she stood with the game, so she dropped it. "After we graduate, are you going to be available to work full time?"

"Sure thing. By then I should be able to get my own car." She said, picking up her cell phone and checking it. He waited for her to be done before asking what was up. " It's just a voice mail from the child services. They've given me permission to live alone for the next month until I turn eighteen." He nodded, agreeing with the decision.

"Wait... Your birthday is in a month?"

"Yeah, You sound shocked that I am aging."

"That's not... Isn't it customary for a friend to give gifts for birthdays?"

"Yup. Lucky you didn't wait a month to try to be friends. I've never had a rich friend before." She laughed. "But seriously, I don't want any gifts this year. Just call or something."

"I don't think I've ever heard of anyone turning down free gifts."

"At the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, just having my friends around me is gift enough." He chuckled a bit and she glared at him.

"You sound like that girl that follows Yugi around."

"Well, let me 'Sakura' it up, Consider your gift to me the fact that you put up with me."

"I can do that. But I'm still getting you something."

"I wont accept it." He glanced at her while stopped at a red light. Their childish verbal tug of war continued the entire drive and a little more through their elevator ride up. It was actually quite fun. Acting like a child in harmless ways. Just joking around. Enjoying the little specs of time between working and being in front of people. It was... nice.

His shift went decently well. There weren't many interruptions and Sakura was getting the hang of quick responses. It wasn't a surprise that she proved trustworthy when if came to her judgment of who to let in and who to turn away. With a half hour of their shift left, Kaiba was burning through the final papers of the night. Suddenly his intercom buzzed into life. He could hear some clanking and rustling, but Sakura didn't speak through it.

He waited a moment and nothing changed. She was triggering the intercom unknowingly. He sighed and lifted himself, heading towards the door of his office when something made him pause. A tune. She was humming at her desk. He listened for a second then chuckled to himself.

The door squeaked open and he poked his head out. She hadn't yet noticed his presence, but that's not what stopped him. The intercom remained untouched on the corner of her desk. He sank back into his office for a second, and could still hear the slightly off echo of her humming. He strode out of his office and looked over what she was doing. In front of her, a clipboard sat as she sketched out one of the key figures he had described to her while she sung.

He reached out, startling her and lifted the clipboard off of the keyboard it rested on. He glanced at the back of the thing and then down at the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" He didn't answer, too consumed in what he was finding out. He held down a few keys, and when he found the right ones, the intercom cut out, linking to the one in his office. He smirked. Well that explained a bit.

"I've figured out our intercom problem. Hold down Control, M and F9." She did as he instructed and found herself connected to the intercom in his office.

"Well I'll be damned." She laughed. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"I guess you wouldn't have. Come on. I want to pack up early today." Sakura nodded, packed up and joined him in his office.

Finally the day Sakura was dreading came. She had laid out her clothes the night before and set up a quick breakfast as well so she wouldn't be late. She had to be ready by nine and it was seven thirty. As much as she hated waking early on the weekend, she hadn't been able to sleep much that night, so it was really just a matter of getting up, not waking up.

She showered, dressed, prepared and ate her breakfast, and then there was nothing left to do than wait. At half past eight there was a knock on her door. She didn't have to open it to know who it was.

"Come in, it's unlocked." She called and heard the latch click open.

"You know, with walls this thin, it's probably not a good thing to shout that." Kaiba said, stepping in.

"Pft, everyone knows I don't own shit." She said, trying to get her earring in. She paused, remembering the last time she tried to get that earring in and glanced at the couch. Something brushed against her hand, ripping her from her thoughts and she turned to see Kaiba standing over her.

"Hold still." He guided the stud through the hole and she looked away. "Hey, I have to use the bathroom, then we'll go. Be ready." He instructed, forgetting that he wasn't her boss outside of Kaiba Corp. He started down the side hall to the bathroom, but caught a glimpse of Jiro's old room. He moved to peek inside and found it just as it had been before. What else did he expect? She was at work all the time she wasn't in school. He knew she needed space to help heal, but she also had to deal with what needed to be done.

After he was finished in the restroom, he walked out into the kitchen where she stood. She was flattening her black blouse against her, a nervous habit she had shown every once in a while. He opened the front door and waited for her to exit first, then followed behind her, locking the door on his way out.

The church ceremony was nice, but in Sakura's opinion, too formal. Jiro would have wanted something more up beat, or from the heart. The priest read some scripture from the bible and recited the classic line "I didn't know _ in life, but I would have liked to". Sakura thought it would have been better for a friend to do it, but didn't want to pressure anyone else. The only person who spoke was Satoshi. Jiro's best friend. His part was her favorite.

"We're all here for Jiro. We always have been. Always will be. I could say he fought on and was strong to the bitter end, but with Sakura hanging over him, everyone knows he sat on his ass for his final time here. Playing video games and watching television." Satoshi looked fondly over the closed casket behind him. "And the little brat beat my ass at Soul Calibur four right up until the end as well.

"He was a guy who didn't just exist. He lived. He loved. He experienced. That's why I'm glad Sakura made him take it easy in the end. The boy just wouldn't quit. He never did either. I can still remember him calling me, wanting to go to the beach when he could barely walk. I have to admit Sakura, I snuck him out a few times." he flashed a smile at her and she shrugged.

"I knew." She said and he chuckled, continuing.

"Of course you did. There's no doubt at all that Jiro was easy to love. And no one loved him more than his little sister. And there was no one he loved more. But he also loved you all... Jiro... Just look at these people." He said turning to the casket again. "Look at how they've gathered for you. To respect you. To love you. You touched the lives of everyone you've ever met, and we'll never forget you. I love you man." He laid his hand on the casket and wished his final goodbye to his friend.

Sakura rose from her seat next to Kaiba to hug Satoshi as he moved back to the pews. She brushed a tear from her eye, and continued back to her seat where Kaiba rose respectfully for her to sit. He kept a close eye on her, watching as her guard wavered. She went rapidly between completely guarded and on the verge of tears. He knew she would wear out soon, and tapped her on the shoulder. When she glanced up, he rose, pulling her up with him. He led her around back quietly and out the side door.

"You know there's nothing wrong with shedding some tears right now." He said, trying to get her to stop exhausting herself by hiding her feelings. "You're not at school, or work." She shook her head and brushed away another stray tear. He opened his mouth to say something, but the side door opened again and someone stepped out. The girl from study hall, the one who had informed him of Jiro's death, looked around until she spotted Sakura, then marched over to her.

"Sweetie?" She said, raising a hand and placing it on her arm.

"I'm ok." Sakura said, straightening herself.

"Oh please. How many times do I have to tell you, let it out." Sakura gave the girl a frustrated look, but said nothing. "At least do it out here while the others cant see you." Still Sakura didn't respond. "Don't make me poke you." She threatened. Kaiba wanted to stop her, but didn't know if he should. The girl hugged her and sighed. "You're going to cry today. I just don't want you to explode."

"I know." Sakura finally said, hugging her back. "I'm just not ready yet."

"Then come on, they're about to bring him out."

The ride in the limos to the cemetery was a short one, but it felt like forever. Kaiba remained next to her the entire time, partially for support and partially because he didn't know anyone else there. Sakura had to step away from the actual burial until she was needed to place the first rose on his casket. Everyone followed her lead and dropped their own rose and bid farewell. Kaiba led Sakura back to the limo for the reception and everyone followed it there.

Sakura wasn't supposed to have found out where he planned the reception, but the sneaky little girl uncovered it in a file he was trying to hide from her. When they got to the building, she was not surprised at all. The limo carrying her, Kaiba, and the girl Kaiba later found out was her best friend, Steph, pulled up first, a few minutes before the others would arrive. He wanted to make sure everything was alright, as usual. Mel opened the door for him and greeted him.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba, thank you again for selecting us for your business." She said with the same fake smile Sakura had seen her use with any customer who had deep pockets.

"Actually, it's not my business, it's her's." He stepped aside, letting Sakura enter.

"Ah... Sakura-" She began, but Kaiba cut her off.

"It's Miss Miko. Unless you greet all your patrons with such informality?" Mel immediately stopped, and gave a polite bow to Sakura.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Miko." She said, but everyone knew it was not sincere.

"Are the tables ready?" He said cutting short their greetings. They didn't have much time before the others would arrive.

"Yes this way." Mel led them into the great hall that she had worked in once before. The decorations were different, but more than she could have asked for. "If I may, what is the occasion?" She asked, stopping and leaning towards Sakura.

"A funeral." She said quickly, continuing forward and leaving Mel where she had paused. "Kaiba... I know how much this costs... and that alone is too-"

"I swear Sakura, you just cant let a good thing be." He cut her off, smirking. He turned to look down at her and his smile faded. She had been looking at the ground, tears threatening to spill out again. She lifted a hand to her eyes and covered them.

"I'm sorry..." She said, trying to force out a smile, but she ended up looking more pained then anything. He put a hand on her shoulder and glanced around for Steph. When he found her, she caught his gaze and rushed over. Steph hugged the girl to her and muttered soothing words while stroking her hair. Kaiba felt completely out of place and even worse, useless. He didn't know how to comfort people. He was barely learning how to be nice. All he could do now, was make sure everything was handled, so she had little left to deal with.

The rest of the night went smoothly. Many people approached Sakura to wish her well and offer their condolences. Steph took up Kaiba's position at her side, so he made himself busy checking on the food and tables. He almost felt like a waiter, but he didn't mind. Once the people started thinning out he waited for an opportunity to steal Steph away. That opportunity came when Satoshi approached Sakura and gave her a big hug. Kaiba slipped behind Steph and tapped her shoulder.

"I need to speak with you for a second." He said, and moved away from Sakura. Steph followed, but raised an eyebrow in question. "I know this isn't my place, but someone's gotta help her with her brother's room. She said she needed to pack it up, but it's not done, and right now all it's doing is hovering over her." Steph glanced at the ground for a second and sighed.

"It's not going to be easy... but... I think I can help." She said, knowing it was something that needed to be done. "So... you really care about her, right?" Kaiba looked at her confusedly. "Please. You're stumbling over yourself trying to make her happy."

"She... just lost her brother..."

"You're so... transparent." She finished, walking away before he could say anymore. Transparent? He supposed he did care about her and wasn't trying to hide it at all, but... stumbling over himself? No. What he had been doing, any friend would do... right?

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I'm loving all the reviews! Don't forget this is my first OC. If you guys have any issues at all with the way I'm writing, or if you don't think I'm portraying something correctly, or realistically, please let me know. I strive for perfection. Also, if you spot any grammatical errors or typos, please point them out so I can fix them. I know mistakes can turn a great fic into an average one.

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love!