"It's a long story?" echoed Mokuba, raising a brow as he looked at Kaiba in disbelief, "Why don't you just tell me? There's no reason for you to be keeping secrets from me, Seto."

"I'm not," replied Kaiba, looking off into a distance, "This is just something that isn't of your concern."

"What isn't my concern? We're brothers. You can tell me anything and I would listen. You know that. Just because we haven't been talking all that much lately doesn't mean I want to be left in the dark about your life…"

Kaiba felt like he was getting a lecture from the younger brother, and rolling his eyes, he met Mokuba's face with a blank gaze. Did he really want to talk about Anzu to the kid, who probably hadn't seen her since the Other Yugi had passed on? It sounded like a potentially embarrassing conversation, going into detail over his relationship with her, but maybe he could shed some light on things.

The fact of the matter was Mokuba probably knew more about girls than Kaiba did, at least from first-hand experience. It was something he figured out a while ago, and letting out a frustrated groan, Kaiba moved over to lay closer to his sibling, folding his hands and resting his head between them as he looked up at Mokuba's face again.

"-Fine. I've been seeing someone lately."

"Who? Do I know them? Since when? Why didn't you tell me Seto, that's a big deal! You should have-"

Raising his hand, Kaiba waited for Mokuba to stop prattling on, his head beginning to ache as all the teen's questions started going through his head. He knew why he didn't want Mokuba to know about his little romance with Anzu. It was private. Something he was just beginning to come to terms with, especially after finding out Anzu didn't exactly feel the same way about him. It was embarrassing, and no one needed to know about his failure in that regard.

" -I wanted to tell you about what was going on Mokuba, but you weren't around. And I didn't want to bother you with my romance angst. But since you are curious… I've been seeing someone you've known for the past few months. It was the main reason actually why I came to New York, and I'm trying to convince her to come back and stay in Japan with me."

"Why wouldn't she?" asked Mokuba, his face looking a bit confused, "Is she American?"

"What? No, of course not."

"Then I don't see the problem."

Of course he didn't. He was still ignorant of the whole situation, and Kaiba was trying to make himself man up and just spill everything, but it was so hard. Mokuba might make him feel better, but he didn't want to expose himself that far. Even over something as stupid as his feelings over a girl.

"She wants to study here, for school. For whatever reason, she's adamant about moving to this city, and I can't really convince her otherwise. I know by next years' time, she won't be in Japan anymore. And I can't deal with that. I want her to do well and get into the school she wants, but at the same time… It wouldn't bother me if she failed and stayed nearby. I sound selfish for wanting that, I know…"

"Who is this person?"

"An old friend."

"Seto, you don't have friends."

Mokuba was laughing, and Kaiba couldn't help but snort in response. Smiling a little at him, Kaiba calmed himself down a little and looked at his brother, admiring him a little before gazing back up at the ceiling. He looked so much like their father, just with more relaxed features. His eyes were still shaped like their mother's, but everything else reminded Kaiba of the actual father he had lost many years ago.

It stung too. Sometimes he couldn't look at him too much, but it was a good reminder at times. Like when they lived with Gozaburo and Kaiba was losing himself to a man who tried to play his paternal figure, to gain his trust. Hell, it still sickened him that he'd called the old man "Father" too, almost earnestly to gain some sort of approval that was never given. If Mokuba hadn't been around wearing his true father's face, who knew what would have happened…

He owed a lot to his brother. More than the teenager would probably ever know.

"She was more like your friend actually…" Pausing, he thought about the repercussions of telling his brother about Anzu, but what could possibly come out of it besides embarrassment? Probably nothing.

"Come on big brother; just tell me who you're talking about."

"… Anzu Mazaki."

"-What?"

Mokuba gave him a face of disbelief, but Kaiba only snorted, knowing full well that sort of reaction was coming. Of course his brother wouldn't believe it, since he never showed much interest in anyone back then, but that was mainly because he was busy. Girls weren't exactly on his radar, and waiting for his younger brother to get his head wrapped around the situation, he let out a big sigh before looking down towards the floor.

"You have to understand Mokuba, it just sort of happened… She was the only one I felt comfortable talking to, about certain things, and we started hanging out some. At first it was just because I was lonely and wanted someone to bother, but it's more than that now… Besides, she's not an awful person and I like her."

"… Well, does she at least like you back?"

Mokuba sounded hopeful, but Kaiba shook his head no. He couldn't honestly tell if she did or not, and it made him stressed out just thinking about it. His feelings were pretty settled, and like with all things, once he set his mind (or heart) on something, that was it. Kaiba rarely changed, but Anzu expressed that she didn't want him like that. Yet, she certainly didn't stop him from having sex with her…

"I don't think so. She's been hard to figure out."

"Be careful then, big brother…"

"I am careful," Kaiba grumbled, rolling his eyes, "As careful as I could possibly be. You have no idea how hard it is, trying to figure out how to win over someone who keeps pushing you away."

Instead of responding, Mokuba was quiet, but Kaiba expected that much. He was talking about something his brother probably had never dealt with just yet, and he normally didn't see his older brother lamenting about someone so openly before... Or ever. They were close, but tended to keep things to themselves, like most males often did. Getting all worked up over a girl was just awkward, and Kaiba internally shamed himself for it.

"-Before I leave New York, I need to see her again. And talk to her, maybe settle some things and find out just what she's going to do, because I'm tired of feeling so helpless about it. I refuse to be in this position, not being able to do anything because she wants two things at once."

"Well," started Mokuba, trying to lighten up the mood, "I don't see why you couldn't win her over. I mean, you're Seto Kaiba!" He was smirking, looking his older brother in the face who was staring back but not appearing half as amused, "You can do the impossible, and getting Anzu to like you shouldn't be that hard."

"She already likes me. But that's it. I can't get her to go any further than that."

"Oh."

Becoming very frustrated, Kaiba got up from the bed, going into the walk-in closet while leaving his brother confused who watched him from the foot of the bed. Kaiba wasn't going to lay there feeling sorry for himself when the girl in question was close by, and since Mokuba was just being a cock block before for all intents and purposes, he was going back to Anzu's place to take care of his "relationship" issue.

"Seto, what are you doing?"

"Getting changed. I've made up my mind over something."

He got out of his button shirt and work slacks quickly, putting on a black shirt and tight fitting pants instead. His focus was on reaching Anzu's apartment at a decent time before she decided to go to bed, and if that meant pissing off Mokuba a little bit for ditching him, so be it. As far as Kaiba was concerned, the kid had dragged him away from what he was already planning on doing that night, and unless he had anything more to say, he was done discussing his predicament to his kid brother.

"I'm going to go see her, and I'll catch up with you tomorrow-"

Kaiba was quick to get his clothes changed; Mokuba just sat on the bed staring at him, unable to process just what was going on. He had never seen his brother act so strangely before, and watching, he wanted to see him with Anzu. See for himself what was going on between them, before his brother got himself hurt or worse. He was always choosing the wrong people to become reliable upon, but Anzu wasn't a bad person…

Still, it was his brother. And no one wanted to see someone they cared about coming close to getting hurt.

"Okay Seto, but before we leave New York, I want to see Anzu again too."

Stopping short of the door, Kaiba turned around at him and almost glared, looking suspiciously at his younger brother before turning completely around and leaning against the door frame as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why?" He asked, his tone much deeper than it was before.

"She was my friend. And I want to visit her."

"You've never shown any desire in seeing her before now. Mokuba, my personal relationships are none of your business."

"Seto, you're being unreasonable!" He got up, walking right in front of Kaiba and giving him a look of disapproval, copying his body language as he crossed his own arms. "I'm not going to do anything to embarrass you. And I don't see why you'd care if she saw me again."

"That's not the point. I don't want you snooping around where your nose doesn't belong…"

"Oh come on, I know you well enough big brother to know you're going to do whatever you want no matter what I say. And I'm not trying to dissuade you from Anzu either, but still… I don't want you getting hurt. Especially since she's planning on leaving you, and you're… attached."

"Mokuba," Kaiba began, sighing a little before getting off the door frame, "I can take care of myself. I'll see you tomorrow."

He turned around shortly afterwards and headed out the door. He knew his little brother didn't approve of his actions, but he didn't care. Kaiba had gone too far to back away from getting what he wanted, even if that meant getting thrown off several times while going for it. Sure, he knew his chances of winning over Anzu were slim, and he wasn't really good enough for her, considering how decent a person she was, but still. He didn't give up anything he wanted to less worthy rivals. It didn't matter if he wasn't who he should be according to his personal ideals, everyone else was much worse.

Besides, he knew deep down despite his issues and lack of romanticism, he would try to make her happy. He'd try hard to please her the best he could, and maybe that would be enough. Maybe she would see his effort and decided he was worth staying with, despite everything. It was hard to take a chance at that, but Kaiba was sure as hell going to try.

Sitting in the back of the cab alone, he had plenty of time to think over it all too. Traffic was terrible at night, and thinking about how to win over Anzu, Kaiba made up his mind to grab dinner on the way to her apartment. It was the right thing to do, and he wasn't going to mooch on her shit when he had better financial resources.

Watching as he was driven past the inner city, he thought about his options. Japan didn't offer as many things to eat, and although he already had dinner, that didn't mean he wasn't willing to try something a little different. He certainly liked being open minded and "cultured" about his culinary options and Anzu came off as the type of girl who enjoyed anything.

Stopping just three blocks away from her place, Kaiba found a busy looking Indian place, walking in a bit warily before being greeted by the owners. They began swearing by their chicken tikka masala, so being a bit adventurous, Kaiba ordered some to go and went on his way.

It didn't take long before he reached Mazaki's apartment. And after requesting entry, he waited patiently before being buzzed in, racing up the stairs and reaching her door on the fifth floor feeling slightly winded, but excited. Before he could reach the door to knock, Anzu opened it, her face slightly surprised.

"I thought you were busy tonight," she said, looking down at the bag of food in Kaiba's hands, "I was going to call you tomorrow."

"-It got sorted out. I needed to see you."

He stood there awkwardly for a moment before Anzu moved out of the doorway and allowed him in. Walking through, Kaiba noticed that the room hadn't changed since he was there last; the TV was on and her futon was out with the covers wrinkled. She must have been lying in bed, and taking a seat by the foot of it, he slipped off his shoes before opening the plastic bag that contained their food.

"I wasn't sure if you've eaten yet, so I got you some food," said Kaiba, glancing up at Anzu. "You can just save it for later if you're not hungry."

"-Actually, I didn't eat yet. Went to the gym after that conference, and completely forgot to grab something."

She was wearing only a thin pair of cotton shorts and a tank, and Kaiba felt oddly overdressed. Sitting there all in black, he handed Anzu her food before looking away and leaning against the back of the futon. It was more comfortable than he thought it would be, and Anzu crawled over him, sitting right by his side with her legs crossed and fork deep in Indian food.

"I'm glad you came, though," she said, glancing up towards Kaiba's face, "Despite having spent the greater portion of my day with you, I felt like I needed to see you again. I like having you around, you know that."

"I do."

Looking down at her face, he noticed her smile again, and he slumped a little where he was lying down. It was comfortable, being with her in a casual manner, unlike with most people. She didn't make a big deal of his company, and whenever they were together, it just felt natural. It was the most normal thing in the world, especially when they were eating together as friends. And Kaiba usually hated eating in front of people.

"-Mokuba ran into me at the conference. He needed to see me. And after my time apart from home, it was necessary for me to speak with him, even though I regret having to put a rain check on our date. I told him about us…"

"Oh."

Anzu didn't say anything, and Kaiba thought for a second before opening his mouth again, looking at the TV instead of his companion's face.

"He doesn't know anything about our intimacy, but he knows how I feel about you. And he's concerned, which is completely warranted, since my attachment is greater than yours. The kid is intuitive."

"It's not like I don't like you, Kaiba," started Anzu, looking up at him shyly.

"-But you don't love me, and one day that just won't be enough, Anzu. I can't help my feelings, and neither can you. Mokuba knows that, and he knows that if this continues on, I'll be miserable… He's my younger brother; he doesn't want that to happen."

"Kaiba, if I could feel that way about you, I would," started Anzu, putting her food down before reaching over to grab the remote to the TV, "But it's difficult-"

"I'm not looking for an excuse, Anzu. I get it. You were heart broken, and I don't blame you for my situation. But he's right. I can't dwell over relationship that won't ever be what I want it to be. It'll drive me insane."

"But you don't know, maybe one day I could end up falling in love with you. If you don't even give me the chance, Kaiba, you might end up missing out on a good thing. I didn't think I could love anyone after Atem left to the next world, but maybe I was wrong. Just give this a chance."

He wasn't looking to get caught up in relationship angst all over again, but Kaiba just sighed and looked down at Anzu. Her eyes were looking up at him, pleading, and caught for a second, he could only stare before she finally broke contact.

"Kaiba," she began, "I'm not even sure right now if I want to go to New York again. You've messed up everything. It was never my intentions in getting caught up again… I really like you."

"That's not enough for me."

"You're being terribly unfair."

She didn't say anything more, his companion falling silent as she ate her food. Well, his food, which he didn't touch. It actually looked pretty good, but he wasn't one for over eating, and Mokuba had treated him already to dinner. There was no reason to indulge in more food so late at night.

"Anzu, I'm just being honest with you. I don't settle. And I'm tired running around in circles trying to deal with my feelings while we're doing this. I want to be with you. I'm not ashamed to admit that, and if you don't want me, then fine, I'll eventually get over it. But don't think for a minute I'll let you play with my feelings because you can't deal with your own. I'll be dammed before another person just walks out of my life, and I don't do anything to stop them. Got it?"

Anzu didn't say anything right away, but Kaiba wasn't dissuaded. He'd get his point across, one way or another.

"If you continue being with me, I will find a way to make you love me."

Looking away, Anzu avoided looking him in the eyes, but Kaiba grabbed her face before she could move away, forcing her into looking at him. He couldn't stop himself, and she wasn't fighting back, and before he knew it, he was glancing down at her lips before meeting them with his own …