Masaka: What is it with me and filling out all my stories with little extra characters! I just kept tacking on stuff about the secretaries and now I'm starting this chapter out with some random background dude!
Yami Masaka: The way we perceive the world is shaped by those around us, poppet. Now let's get cracking on this story because after this you have personalized Hallmark humor worthy Christmas cards to churn out for everyone, including a special one for your dad who didn't get a real present from you
Masaka: *blushing because she's so very poor but feels like she shouldn't be using that as a real excuse* He and Aaron are going to have to get presents from borrowed money.
CHAPTERSTART
Bidō Renard had been in charge of the Domino Tower's reservation desk for almost as long as he'd known how to use a computer. His father, the French gourmet Garon Renard, had thought it would be a good way of training Bidō in the family business without also risking his son somehow coming across his mother's family and getting 'brainwashed' by the very traditional Japanese restaurateurs.
Bidō didn't really care for that whole issue one way or another but he figured it was better to put up with his father's grudge than go on scrapping knees to a bunch of relatives that he didn't know. Besides which the chances to make money and connections at the reservation desk were much higher…except…
Except Bidō was beginning to regret his latest deal with Mokuba Kaiba as he caught sight of the enraged blonde called Jounouchi Katsuya storming up from the elevators towards his little counter.
Being the metaphorical 'gate-keeper' to Domino's most high-classed eatery Bidō was used to getting yelled at by the peons. It was annoying and it occasionally got him covered in spit but such was otherwise survivable. This young man walking up however…didn't look like the type of person whom you survived by simply nodding vacantly and smiling. This young man looked more like the type to rip a nodding head right off its connected shoulders if he heard something that he didn't like. Bidō HATED that type.
"Just say what you were instructed to say," the actor Mokuba-sama had sent to arrange this whole odd exchange whispered to him before turning to leave.
Sweating more profusely than he had in years Bidō managed a weak nod and he clenched his knees against the very unmanly tremble that was threatening to spill down his spine.
"Good afternoon sir and welcome to the Domino To-" Bidō tried to smile professionally.
The blonde slapped his hands down on Bidō's counter so hard that the sound actually echoed through the marble lobby causing the chandelier to quake.
"Reservation! Honda! Cancelled! NOT GONNA HAPPEN!" Jounouchi-san snarled.
(A/N: Awwwh isn't that so polite? Little bus-boy is using honorifics on Jou since he wasn't officially introduced)
The urge to tremble built up higher within Bidō's knee but once again the man resisted the urge.
"The…Honda r-reservation?" Bidō coughed nervously, "I-I'm so sorry sir but-"
"You SOLD the table right UNDER my BEST-FRIEND's reservation!" Jounouchi-san snarled so darkly that Bidō wouldn't have surprised to see fangs glistening among the blonde's brilliant white teeth.
"Please sir, do not throw your emotions at me. I-It's just management policy to r-reverse the order of reservation between a-any party willing t-to pay triple the fee…a-and the party whose reservation was a-already paid. I-I informed Honda-san that he c-could keep the table if he were willing to match-"
"ARE YOU RUNNIN' A FREAKIN' RESTAURANT OR A SYNDICATE? WHO THE HELL MAKES A PERSON PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BEFORE LETTIN' THEIR COSTUMERS EVEN SIT AT THE FREAKIN' TABLE!!" the blonde screamed.
"O-Oh God don't hurt me! T-The guy who out-bid the table is o-over there by the door! You can settle this with THEM! Just don't hurt me!" Bidō's knees finally collapsed, sending the man into a huddle beneath the nice solid mass of the countertop.
Mercifully, miraculously, the savage young man turned his attention from Bidō towards the actor who was entering the elevator. As just when Bidō's life was beginning to flash before his eyes in a sad display of aimlessness and familial neglect Jounouchi-san turned and left.
Panting heavily Bidō peeked over the edge of the counter still half expecting the young blonde to come running back with his fists flying, leading a band of all of his father's other displaced and dissatisfied costumers charging at him.
However such was not Bidō Renard's fate. The lobby was empty.
"T-THAT'S IT! SCREW THESE FIVE-STAR DEATH-TRAPS!" Bidō ripped his bowtie from his shirt as he leapfrogged over the desk, "I'm not dealing with this type of-of…STUPIDITY any longer! IF SOMEONE IF GONNA SCREAM AT ME IT'S GONNA A BE FOR A DAMN BETTER REASON THAN WHETHER OR NOT THEIR TABLE IS BY THE RIGHT FREAKIN' WINDOW!!"
Though Yugi would never know it, that Christmas, because of him, the Ikazuka family would finally recover their long lost heir and would finally recover from the cooking-style rift that had been created with Garon Renard had first tried to introduce new western flavors to the menu.
HO-HO-HO
Down on the street Jou was close to losing his cool in a violent way as he chased after the creep who'd had the nerve to ruin his only little sister precious Christmas Eve plans. His own unattainable and fairly dreamy plans had obviously gone belly-up what with Kaiba laughing his pretty head off at the very suggestion of a shared meal so Jou would be DAMNED if he'd let all the members of his family spending the blissful eve clustered before the flickering television watching a poorly dubbed version of It's a Wonderful Life for the nine-hundredth time since the beginning of December when they didn't have to.
He was so in a rage that he didn't even stop to think that Serenity was at no risk at all of spending her days couch-surfing thanks to Honda's flexible planning skills.
Only a few feet ahead of him the thick coal-black trench-coat of his target flapping teasingly in the chill as its owner tried in vain to escape his just desserts.
"AWWWWH NO YA DON'T YOU CHRISTMAS-KILLIN', EGOCENTRIC BA-" Jou's scream tampered off as the coat pulled away and its owner was revealed, " ba…babe."
Instead of some smirking, balding, sneering salaryman, such as Jounouchi had expected, the dark material pulled away to reveal a beautiful yet gently crying woman with the most incredible blue-eyes that Jou had come across since Seto Kaiba's.
"Ah…shit I didn't realize ya was …I-I mean I wouldn't a…if I'd know…awwh come on lady please don't cry," Jou whimpered as the woman tugged her coat out of the blonde now limp grasp and sought to fix the lapels.
"I…I am not crying," the woman said haughtily even as the liner around her eyes began to leave streaks down her face.
Jou couldn't help but find it somehow adorable that the woman wouldn't give in and had to smile; "Well if those ain't tears then I gotta admit you must be the saddest person I've ever heard of ta suffer from dead-winter allergies."
The woman paused in her rearranging long enough to give Jounouchi a startled look and then slowly that shock melted into a watery laugh and a smile.
"Alright maybe I'm crying…just a little," the woman laughed as she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and swipe at the smudges beneath her eyes.
"Uh ya…just a little," Jou scratched the back of his head helplessly. The strange older woman laughed again, causing fat inky droplets to roll even further down her cheeks.
"Oh …damn it all I'm making such a mess," she sobbed helplessly.
"Crap…err uh listen lady, I-I didn't mean ta sound…ya know…deranged or whatever but um…well ya see the thing is," Jou whipped his head helplessly back and forth and let out a frustrated bellow, "GAAAH!! Damn it why the hell do I go ta pieces in front of a crying girl? Listen ya bought out my little sister reservation at that fancy-smancy restaurant back there and I ain't leavin' ya be until ya at least give me a reason!!"
Much to his displeasure instead of setting the woman at ease Jou's words only cause the strange woman to tear up more and let out a few little sobbing cries into her now very blotched handkerchief.
"Awwwwwh man! Noooo! Don't cry MORE! Less! Cry less! Come on damn it people will think I'm harrassin' ya or somethin'!" Jou hung his head in defeat.
"I-I have a-already t-told you…t-that I am n-not crying," the woman sniffed back her cries and tried to put on a brave face.
Jou growled and raked his hands through his hair so feverously that his hair frizzed up like a well snuggled mongrel.
"Okay! Okay! Let's take it back a step here," Jou let out a huff. "There is a small café just one little street-length away from here. And it's not the one I usually visit, it's more…ya know…YOU class. I'm gonna ask ya to just come with me there so we can have a little talk. Ya can go and …ya know…not cry for a bit in the powder-room or whatever and rearrange your makeup and…and we can talk…okay?"
Thankfully for Jou's blood-pressure the woman immediately agreed and side by side the two walked off to the Jade Lotus: Gourmet Bistro.
HO-HO-HO
At around the same time or later than when Jou was sitting down to coffee, Yugi was having his own little girl-trouble as he tried to convince Otogi Ryuji to take Mai Valentine on as his beta-tester.
"-after all the trouble you put me through with that stupid request for that…that THING you were going to DRAG ME INTO despite my own wishes, you go and try to dump some has-been dueling psycho on me!" Otogi was finally rattling down from a little rant that had started almost the moment Yugi set foot in the Dark Clown Game Shop.
Yugi sighed heavily and turned to apologize to Mai for Otogi's behavior when he saw a very familiar and slightly chilling look in the female duelist's lavender eyes.
It was that same look she'd had when she'd tormented Jou through Kaiba's tournament and the same look she'd had when she'd attempted to make the blonde forget all about pretty blue-eyed brunette and swing for side of the fence again after all the tournaments were finished.
It was that look that meant things were about to get very hot around the ole Dark Clown Game Shop.
"You know…Ryuji," Mai started softly.
"I'd prefer it if you called me Otogi."
"You know Ryuji," Mai repeated tauntingly, "if I didn't know your reputation better I'd think you were afraid of little ole' me?"
This reply sent a strange sort of tremor through Otogi, as if he'd been caught up in the wave of heated energy that Mai was sending out like it was an actual current in the ocean.
"How do you figure that I am afraid of you?" Otogi said, crossing his arms over his chest and widening his stance, mirroring Mai's own body-language perfectly.
Mai tilted her head downward slightly so that she was looking up at Otogi through her thick lashes. She also pouted out her lips just slightly so that it was impossible to not notice their glistening plump shape.
"You seem so adamant to not be struck with me …for all those long after-hours it will take to test your little game…to see me push the limits of what you know. It's as if you don't think you can handle me."
A smirk, faint and timid as it was, perked up at the corner of Otogi's lips making the hair on Yugi's neck bristle and his cheeks turn pink. He knew veeeery well what that sort of smirk on the lips of dice-master Otogi Ryuji meant. And it was not a show meant to be put on in front of others.
"My dear Mai, I think you've overestimated your appeal. There is no woman on this earth that Otogi Ryuji can't handle."
"Oh no?" Mai cooed softly, "Then why don't you take me…on?"
The pause between the words was so brief that Yugi almost thought he imagined it and was so blatantly sexual that even Mai's cheeks seemed to turn a little rosy.
"Yugi!" Otogi snapped authoritatively, his testosterone obviously spiking.
"Y-Yes?" Yugi yelped.
"You can leave Miss Valentine to me. I've changed my mind about the beta-testing," Otogi smirked even more brilliantly.
"S-Sure thing just um…well I'll um…see ya on the 25th…I guess," Yugi mumbled as he backed away cautiously towards the door and made a break for it.
Once safe at the bottom of his steps Yugi felt free to not only blush as deeply as he'd wanted to the moment Mai had started her flirtatious little challenge but also to laugh until tears started to roll down his cheeks.
"O-O-Oh my god! Kuriboh, my dear, darling little monster I am going to have to really give you something special for this! You are by far the cleverest little creature to have ever been dreamed up," Yugi choked out as he stumbled away towards home.
HO-HO-HO-HO
As he sat at the very softly upholstered chair in the booth of the very well cared for café waiting for his mysterious guest to come back from the ladies' room Jou had to take a minute to do a little self-assessment and decide that he was just too female-friendly for his good.
He'd always had a weakness for a dame who painted on a brave face against the world despite being a mess within. Something about the contrast between their alluring vulnerability and their steely ambitions just made Jou freeze in awe.
Perhaps it had something to do with Mai, or his mother –who for all intents and purposes had flowered under her status as a single divorcee parents contrary to the way Jou's old man had withered--, or maybe it had nothing to do with any of them at all but for whatever reason Jou just couldn't resist the older ladies in far too many ways to be healthy. And the blonde was almost certain that today was going to be the day that that weakness got him in serious trouble.
"Thank you for letting me get my dignity back Mister…" the woman said questioningly as she came walking at a brisk professional clip towards the table.
"Uh the name is Jou, I-I mean, I'm Jounouchi. Jounouchi Katsuya," Jou introduced himself.
"It is a pleasure, Katsuya," the woman nodded. "My name is Kira Emichō, vice-president to Seiryu Enterprises."
Having no idea what the heck that business was except that its name reminded him of a girly comic his sister had once gotten him hooked on Jounouchi only nodded. He was even more shocked that this woman he barely knew was calling him by his given name. It wasn't …uncomfortable to be called by it only no one ever did.
"I suppose I better tell you why I took your sister's reservation hadn't I?" the woman sighed, brushing a lock of platinum hair out of her eyes. Perhaps it was just the combination of her silver hair and her pale skin but Jou thought the woman looked very cold.
"I did ask ya for an answer," Jou said plainly.
The woman's well manicured nails gripped the handle of her Italian leather purse so tightly that Jou could have sworn he heard the cow crying.
"Y-you see I am…well I have been divorced …a long time and my son…" Kira shook her neck-length hair regally back out of her face and took a sip of the water the waiter had brought out. "My son has been living in America with his father. Because of my work I haven't been able to spend the time with him that I would have otherwise liked and this has allowed my ex to…to fill my son's head with ridiculous notions about my love for him and…. Please, I beg of you Katsuya, do not ask me to return this reservation. Domino Towers is just the type of fantastical setting I need to show my son just how much I can give him…that I want to give him…that his father would deny him from with his lies!"
The heated anger rolling beneath the woman's words made Jou rethink his ideas about the woman being cold but also made his own blood grow hot with all too familiar rage.
"My god lady how fuckin' stupid can ya get?" Jou snorted, feeling slightly satisfied that the woman dropped her glass out of shock.
"You are a cruel man to deprive a woman the chance to-"
"I didn't say nothing about yer precious dinner date," Jou smirked darkly.
Kira cocked a confused eyebrow at him while continuing to dab at the water she'd spilled on herself and the tablecloth.
"W-what are you-"
"What I AM saying is that only a stupid, egocentric, hollow-shell of a woman could think that money could buy a person's affections. Yer money ain't worth crap from a kid who only wanted a mother to spend Christmas morning with…to laugh with…to talk to girls about. There ain't enough money in the world to make up for that. Yer money can't show love, only yer love can show love."
Kira stared deeply at Jou once again, her dark blues seeming to penetrate his skin and look deeper down into his soul. It strangely reminded Jou of the times that he'd been stared down by duel monsters. It was as if should he show any weakness or uncertainty in his beliefs the woman would eat him up and spit out the bones.
"P-Perhaps…" Kira finally said, moving her burning stare from Jou to the tablecloth, "perhaps there is some validity to that. I have not been around children…or anyone who makes less than a six-figure salary and has less than a master's degree for so long that …perhaps I have just gotten trapped into this type of thinking that has less to do with showing love and more to do with showing my determination."
Jou grimaced in pain as the eloquence of this woman's language started to form a pretty little overly-educated knot in his frontal lobe.
"Ya wanna run that by me again…with a little more explanation as ta what the hell love and determination are doin' in that sentence together?"
Kira flushed but didn't answer until the waiter came by with a new tablecloth and their cups of coffee.
"It is simply a matter of…well you see it is …in the corporate world it is suicide to expose your true feelings. You can't let someone see where you are weak or if you find something objectionable. You have to be accommodating and dazzling…but you can't be truly affectionate. There are far too many ways that you can be…destroyed…when you share your weaknesses. Even if it hurts, if you don't let your companion know how much his words have hurt you, you can still hold back enough strength to make another attempt at success should your first attempt fail…but if you put it all on the line at the very start…"
Jou startled the woman again by letting out a barkish laugh.
"Shit lady you are talking to the wrooong person if ya want ta argue the benefits of conservativeness."
"Well perhaps for YOU this type of cautious seems ridiculous if you have the sort of lifestyle where big attempts equals big respect not matter how foolish the outcome, as I suspect holds true for the man called the Dumb Luck Duelist," Kira sneered so hotly that Jou had to laugh.
"I won't lie ta ya and say that I haven't impressed people just as much with my stunts as I have with actually pullin' off my goals but here is something ya really ought to know. All my life I've watched people fallin' apart because they let somethin' as stupid as their propriety get in the way of their love. My ol' man kept working double-shifts at his job because he 'wanted ta make a good impression with the boss' and he only ever came home tired and cranky. My mom got sick a' that and left with my little sister leaving me and my old man in a real bind. Then there is my best friend, he let his precious soul-mate walk away and he nearly lost him forever because my bud thought 'it was only fair to let his other have the choice to go'. I'm not sayin' I want ta see people paradin' up and down the streets with big freaking neon-glow marker drawn poster-boards of sappy sweet declarations of love and I would probably be more embarrassed than impressed if I saw a couple hanging all over in each other, all up humping like territorial dogs in the middle of a diner. That stupid stuff doesn't impress me but…but I guess I just ain't impressed with anything less than the hard and painful exposure of the human soul. I can handle anything…so long as the one I love gives me that…and means it."
Jou was not entirely sure why he'd gone off like that. Anzu was the one to make the speeches, or Yugi if you got him pumped up with enough adrenaline. Jou was the one standing in the background snickering over each any ever y fluffy supposedly 'girly' word right alongside Honda.
But…but…well damn it look at what Honda had done for Serenity! And this Kira Emichō just reminded him of Seto so much while thankfully not being him. It was like Jou NEEDED to set this woman right.
However as righteous as Jou had felt giving his speech he quickly ran out of fuel for it and sat back in his seat with a huff of air leaving Kira staring down at her coffee in confliction.
"E-eh an-and anyway I should probably get goin' now. Uh, it was nice to…meet ya and well good luck with your holiday plans," Jou coughed awkwardly as he rose from his chair to leave the café.
He barely got two steps away before Kira snatched his arm with those sharp, sharp nails.
"No please wait," the woman said in a breathless rush. She had that darn cute vulnerable/not-vulnerable tone that instantly hit Jou right between the eyes.
"S…sure," the blonde said in a daze, his legs returning to his seat despite his brain's better judgment.
"It's…Katsuya you make a fine argument and …and," Kira started to lead up to something.
"And?" Jou prompted.
"And you remind me of my son so much that…well I wonder if you would be opposed to being my escort for that special evening I am working up towards."
"Eh…wait…WHAT? You want me to horn in on yer already messed up dinner-date with your son?" Jou jolted in shock.
"Katsuya, you don't understand," Kira fixed her eyes pleadingly on him. "I…I…even if I tried, and I assure you after that sort of argument I would…I-I would never be able to relax myself enough that…I could follow that advise. I need someone with me who will…keep me at level of a mother rather than some icy corporate suit. I need…please I need you."
Jou felt a small sock to the stomach at those words. Yet even so, even with his weakness towards tough-girls, and his need to set-straight cold-hearts and his aroused interest in this mother-son relationship he'd just stumbled into Joey had to say it.
"No! There is no way!"
"Please-"
"Ya don't undertand," Jou rapidly shook his head, "I-I ain't …I mean I'm NOT the type that ya take to fancy restaurants. I am…I am a mutt! I'd be even worse than a kid in that sorta place."
Images of the few times Jou had tried to improve himself ran like a gag-reel through his mind. All the times he'd tried to be serious, where he'd tried to be sophisticated…hell where he'd simply tried to act like Seto didn't intimidate the hell out of him…all those tries had failed.
Jou didn't know the first thing about the lives of the rich and important and he certainly didn't know how to act when visiting a social stratosphere so far above his own.
"I…I'll just end up embarrassing ya," Jou grimaced, clenching his fists against the nice tablecloth and forcing back the very unmanly tears that were trying to break free.
Kira stared at him for a moment, then smiled angelically and took Jou's hand in her own, unclenching it from the material.
"You are a very genuine soul who has a bravery I will never know. I want that at my table. I know there will be certain mannerisms you will be without and that there will be some taboos you will not understand but…but I can help you if that is really what you feel you need so that you can come with me and help me win back my son's love."
"Ya…ya'd really be willing ta spend the rush right before the holidays…teaching an idiot table-manners?" Jou tried to play off his embarrassment and shame with a joke.
Kira let go of his hand and sat up very straight and regal with a strange sort of determined grin on her pale lips.
"I told you, I am a very determined woman, Mister Katsuya. If I say I can do something I can do something and if I say that I can turn you into enough of a gentleman that you will be able to comfortably escort me to dinner so that I do not act like a perfect gentlewoman…then you shall be ready in time."
Nervously Jou cleared his aching throat and none-too-subtly wiped his eyes dry against his sleeve.
"I-It's not like not knowin' which fork ta use at a stupid diner really matters ta me," Jou tried to redeem some of his very quickly fading masculinity. "I-I just…it's just when I see all those rich people lookin' like I just tossed their prized poodle into the blender I-I get a little…ya know."
"I know Katsuya," Kira grinned in a way that made Jou wonder whether the woman could see right through him. "I won't let your pride be damaged…I swear."
"…Thank you," Jou blushed.
Kira nodded smartly and then began to tell him all the little tips and tricks she had learned for presenting oneself as an elitist.
By the time Jou managed to return home that night not only had he forgotten about the issue of Serenity's Christmas Eve plans, he'd also lost about a pound of hair and two pounds of skin-cells in a make-over that he'd go to his grave swearing he'd never gone through as well he had gained a fancy suit that he'd never be able to pay back even if he worked until he was one-hundred years old.
Ho-Ho-Ho
In the center of town, not quite around the same time Jou was having tea with Kira but still earlier than when Yugi introduced Mai to Otogi's beta-testing, a certain brunette CEO seemed to be losing his first argument to his secretary.
"I'll repeat myself just one more time," Higa sneered down at her still seated employer, "if you don't agree to skip the Christmas Eve company-party and actually take the day off I will quit!"
"And I'd like to repeat myself," Seto said with an amused smirk, "I have no idea what business it could possibly be of yours what I do or do not do on the 24th, which is still several days away if you hadn't noticed."
"Not that far away that I am not already neck-deep in in-voices and memos over the whole affair," Akuro rolled her eyes once before returning them to glower at Seto. "And it is my business. You see when you are grumpy you tend to also get angry and when you get angry you tend to try to take it out on any unfortunate soul who has business with you, and when you are seeking vengeance against poor corporate souls I WIND UP WITH MORE WORK!"
Seto quirked and eyebrow and was about to ask more when his secretary pulled something orange out of her pocket and tossed it at his forehead.
"Ouch what was-" Seto caught the object as it fell towards the floor, "this…this is my migraine medication! What are you doing with-"
"I'm using it as a visual aide. If you will look at the bottle you will see that there are exactly four pills left within it. Do you know what's significant about that number?"
"Uhh."
"Four pills equal only four days within which it is safe for you to get a migraine and not cause me pain and suffering with your bellyaching. It is also too few a number to get us through this last week of pre-holiday HELL and the equally HELLISH PARTY!! SO JUST DO THE WORLD A FAVOR AND TAKE THE DAY OFF!!" Akuro screamed so loud that Seto almost did reach for one of his diminished supply of medication.
Rolling the bottle in his hand with great consideration Seto took a moment to think before speaking.
"…I believe I am perfectly able of handling the intrigues of office life even without the help of a high-strength dose of pain-killer," Seto sighed when his secretary looked like she was about to throw her much more heavier and spiked shoe at his forehead the CEO quickly added, "but as this seems to be an issue of great concern for you I will agree to give the event a miss this year."
"Thank you so much Kaiba-sama," Akuro sighed heavily. "You have removed a mountain of stress from my shoulders."
"Hmm…but this doesn't mean that you are allowed to cut corners for the rest of the employees. The annual Christmas party is one of the few traditions that Kaiba Corp has held onto over the years and one of the reasons our employee contentment status has not wavered more than a few percentage point in the last four years."
"I understand sir," Akuro smiled warily.
Unfortunately for the secretary's temperament just as this one disaster was settled the phones began to ring heralding in yet another one.
"This is Kaiba's office," Akuro answered the phone on Seto's desk professionally. She nodded along redundantly for a few minutes then her pretty face went dark and stormy. "GOD DAMN IT JUST THROW THE LITTLE BUGGER OUT THEN! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR-"
Because Kaiba felt it was only his right to scream at employees over the phone the CEO dove at the phone and pried it away from Akuro's hands before she could finish giving her orders.
"This is Kaiba, what seems to be the trouble," Seto called out quickly. There was a moment of anxious quiet then a small voice hesitantly spoke up.
"K-Kaiba-san? This…t-this is Habiki …f-from the Arcade Management floor? A-ah you see…sir there is a small problem as I was t-telling your secretary that a-a um…a b-boy down h-here seems to be um…well he's not doing anything wrong precisely…only winning a few g-games really… but he is disturbing the other guests and I was wondering-"
"Just hold on," Seto groaned, "I'll be down in a minute myself to handle this."
As he hung up the phone and stood from his desk Akuro tried her hardest to glower a hole right through Seto's head.
"What do you think you are doing? We have other employees that can handle this sort of situation," the black-haired woman growled.
"Weren't you the one telling me just a minute ago that I should get out of the office?" Seto smirked as he straightened his jacket.
"B-But Kaiba-sama…t-the work? The contracts? The-"
"Unlike my poor unfortunate staff I happen to be very productive under stress," Seto continued to taunt. "All the important documents to be used in the new year have been drawn up spare a final assessment of that grant we were going to award to the Green Ridge Orphanage which I cannot finish until my lawyer comes back from his skiing vacation on the 28th."
"B-But you…but that means…" Akuro whimpered.
"That means you begged me out of an event that I actually had time for? Or that I somehow dodged the work for that event?" Seto grinned.
"I-I…I'm just going to get back to work," Akuro groaned in defeat as she trudged past Seto out the office-door towards her own desk finally realizing that she hadn't won an argument with her employer that, in fact, there was no way to win an argument against him.
"Make sure you order the very best alcohol for that party Higa-san! I'm pretty sure by the time the catering company is finished with you, you'll need it," Seto laughed as he walked past the woman's desk into the elevator.
Though he tried to suppress the childish tendency for the sake of both his own reputation and the comfort of his employees, Seto Kaiba really was a protégée and as such he could worm his way out of any particular job he didn't want. Such head-games were Kaiba's real forte no matter how much he loved Duel Monsters. It was just lucky for the sanity of Domino city that Kaiba didn't allow himself to play them very often.
The elevator swiftly descended and by the time Seto had finished calculating the Christmas bonuses for his entirely redundant accounting staff the CEO had reached the Arcade level.
Not five feet away from the doors Seto could already pick up the sounds of distress coming from the arcade floor. There were little kids crying and older kids screaming while parents debated among themselves over whether or not to intervene. And in the midst of this chaos was one lone arcade attendant.
"M-Mister Kaiba! O-Over here sir!" said idiot called out the moment his eyes latched onto Kaiba's.
Seto flinched at the direct address because soon every eye in the arcade was turned on him, sizing him up in that way the public always did with celebrities. It raked Seto Kaiba's every nerve to imagine these unexceptional people judging him about the sorts of decisions they would never have to make.
What surprisingly didn't bother him were the whispers and gapped jaws of the children in the crowd. For whatever reason, maybe simply because it appealed to his own admitted vanity, Seto had always liked kids. He wasn't particularly good at interacting with teenagers or the lesser category called 'tweenagers' but in a room of five to eight year olds Seto could feel at home.
"What's the problem?" Seto asked the attendant after forcing his way through the sea of older guests. Fortunately no one had tried to grope him this time.
"It's that boy right there," Hibiki-san pointed to a small figured crouched over the controls of the KC Medieval Adventure. "He's been challenging all the other customers, young and old, and he hasn't lost once."
"And this is bad why?" Seto groaned.
"I-I told you he's …well he's upsetting the others," Hibiki finally recognized the importance of whispering in the midst of a crowd.
Seto suppressed the urge to roll his eyes or yell at the gathered crowd about their pathetic incompetence and instead turned to study the child.
Seto supposed the child could be considered cute. His brown skin seemed extremely healthy, lit with a sort of glow that only children possessed. And the boy had the typical plump cheeks yet high cheekbones, the desired slightly turned up nose, cherubic lips and the slight concave in the chest that most young boys had before their muscles had a chance to catch up to their height.
But there were definitely traits in this child that argued his maturity. The way the boy wore his black and white striped oxford shirt with the collar turned out neatly suggested the boy wasn't fidgety. The way he didn't bother to sweep his ebony hair out of his eyes as he played suggested the boy was very fixated on whatever task he applied himself to. And the slightly bored yet highly competitive look in his ruby eyes…that reminded Seto of himself. As he'd proven upstairs with his secretary it was not easy to be very smart. There were always people around you who tried to make you feel inferior and didn't react well if they were proven wrong.
Seto wondered if this boy didn't have many friends to play with, like Seto hadn't had many friends to play with. He wondered if the boy was playing the single-player games now because he didn't want to get in trouble rather than because he liked those sorts of games.
Pulling himself back up from the depth of thought Seto held a hand up against the complaints and whispers that had been rising in the circle of employees and concerned older costumers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to apologize for any problems that have arisen during your visit here today, however, I feel I must also remind everyone that this is a place of competition albeit casual competition. I understand that some of you are upset by the new challenge brought into the games today by a young man whom I intend to talk to in a moment myself. I'm going to tell you right now that I have no intention of making this boy leave as he has done nothing wrong. Losing is the risk we all must take and you parents should teach your kids the good sportsmanship to accept the loss. Now please everyone go back to your games or I will have to call in security and lock down the entire arcade."
Almost immediately the crowd dispersed. No one wanted to face the wails of a dozen children denied the joys of an arcade due to only a few people's complaints. Hibiki lingered on a few minutes longer to all but slobber over Kaiba in gratitude for the speech but eventually he too left leaving Seto alone with the boy who hadn't even bothered to look up from the screen.
Seto was still gathering his thoughts over what to say when the boy suddenly turned to stare at him and sneered; "You better not be here to tell me to take down my game. I didn't do anything against the rules and I certainly didn't FORCE anyone to lose to me."
"I wasn't going to ask you anything like that. The kids should all benefit from a strong opponent and as for the older teens…well they can only blame themselves for being so weak as to lose to someone years younger than themselves," Seto assured the boy.
The young gamer seemed taken aback by this because for a moment he just stared up at Seto in confusion, the bridge of his nose crinkled in meditation. Then, apparently after deciding Seto wasn't another lying adult, the boy smiled wide enough to show a missing molar and gave a short salute of a nod.
"Okay then. My names Akio Emichō, or it is this week anyway," the boy introduced himself.
"Nice to make your acquaintance, Akio. My name is Seto Kaiba," the brunette said plainly.
"…Gee…no way! The real Seto Kaiba!" Akio gawked. Seto had to chuckle.
"Yes the real Seto Kaiba."
"Wow…uh well um…gee can I say something about your games without sounding like a total drooling boot-licker?" Akio blushed slightly.
"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," Seto smirked.
"Okay well then I guess ….your games are totally the most awesome ever!" Akio cheered, "I mean I've been to a lot of arcades, well not as many as I'd like to, living in a stupid little town in Indiana most of the year, but anyway –whatever—I always like playing at your arcades best. I especially like that first game you made when you opened the first Kaiba Land the um…the uhhh Space Adventure one? Ya, and I remember you first opened it in some Death-T tournament or whatever but both me and my dad totally didn't care about that and we waited for like AGES until the rides were opened up to everyone else and—"
"Okay, okay I think I get the picture," Seto laughed outright as he held up his hands to signal the boy to slow down.
Akio stopped mid-sentence and took several deep breaths before summing up his entire little speech into three little words, "You are awesome."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence," Seto rolled his eyes. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Me uh sure I guess," Akio shrugged.
"First of all I'd like to ask you where your chaperone is," Seto frowned slightly. "With some of the health warnings I've had to put up on every available wall surface most parents won't let their child even watch a duel without supervision."
As Seto had begun to suspect the boy's face dimmed at the mention of a parental figure and he turned his eyes back onto the game screen. "My dad…he's flying back home with his girlfriend as we speak…I'm just hanging out here until my mother's secretary comes to pick me up. Guess they're all too busy this week to actually spend time with me."
Seto nodded his head solemnly. Having been bounced around through several relatives before he and Mokuba eventually wound up in the orphanage Seto knew entirely too well how the disagreements of parents could cause great suffering on the part of the poor kid stuck between them.
"Okay then, question number two," Seto said gently. "What would you say to acting as my personal opponent for the next couple of days?"
"W-what?" the boy gasped so harshly that Seto momentarily had to worry about damage to the kid's throat.
"You obviously put up a good fight or else I wouldn't have been called down here in the first place," Seto shrugged as if this was a sort of deal he made every day. "And I could certainly use a fresh perspective of an American duelist to help me test the quality of my arcade."
"Y-You're…no way! You're kidding me! I mean…you've got to be…don't ya?" Akio's face blushed anxiously.
"I never kid," Seto said formally.
"W-well then sure! I mean yah! Definitely! I'd be like the craziest person in the world if I said no to an offer like this! O-Oh but…I-I mean…I don't know if I'll be able to get here every day," Akio winced. "I mean I might be expected to hang around her stupid apartment watching subtitled Christmas shows or something."
"I'll have a word with your chaperone when they arrive," Seto assured the boy.
"…Wow, okay. Only…well I gotta ask ya somethin' Kaiba sir…why would you want to do that all for me?" Akio asked.
Strangely the question still managed to jar Seto. He'd already been thinking over how exactly he would persuade the boy's chaperone to bring Akio to his arcade every day until the holiday closing but his mind had sort of skipping over the reasoning for why.
The boy reminded Seto of himself but…but there were many other children he'd seen who held equal promise and Seto had never even considered escorting them through his building.
In the end Seto figured that it was the boy's loneliness that appealed to him and the stubborn way the boy had tried to act as if it didn't bother him. It wasn't a real rational reason but that was all Seto had.
"You intrigue me," Seto shrugged, "because you remind me a little bit of myself at a younger age. Other than that I couldn't say."
"No offense but that sounds kinda well…stuck-up. Do you only like people how are the same as you?" Akio asked even as he slid off the game bench and followed as Seto began to led him into a less crowded section of the arcade.
"It is a scientific fact that individuals sharing similar traits tend to cooperate more than those with opposing traits," Seto tried to dismiss the question.
"Huh…guess that might explain me and my mother than. We're really not cooperate."
"Uncooperative," Seto corrected.
"Right," Akio nodded, "she doesn't seem to like me all that much and I guess it could be because were so different. I don't even look like I'm her kid. She's really pretty pale like you and has this really, really blonde hair that's sort of silvery except it has some golden in it too if you look close enough."
"You don't believe your mother likes you?" Seto couldn't help but latch onto the boy's words. Again it was his own less-than-loved history that made him atypically empathetic to such plights.
"Well…ya," Akio shrugged simply. "I mean she's always working. She likes spending time with adults not kids. And every time she looks at me my mother is always …nervous I guess? Ya she looks like she's afraid I'm going to leap up and bite her neck open or claw her eyes out like those creepy little scaly mogwai things from that old movie Gremlins."
If the boy had said that his mother simply didn't talk to him much, or that she spent more time with a boyfriend than with her own flesh and blood then Seto would have carried out his plan to keep the kid happily distracted from the selfish problems of his parents for as long as he was capable. He would have pulled a Raul Dahl and oriented the world towards the kid's own desires rather than those of his parents. If he had said anything about his parents…except that he mother must not love him because she was as business oriented as Seto …
"Akio, I don't think-"
"Ooh! Yes! Space Adventures! Come on I can so beat you at this!" Akio caught sight of the slightly more advanced laser-tag arena. Before Seto could even try to stop him the boy had grabbed a breast plate and a laser-pistol off the wall.
"I'll bet that I can hit five alien invaders before you can even hit one. I'll even buy you dinner if I lose," Akio grinned challengingly.
"Wait I-" Seto tried again, but this time he was interrupted by the game actress running out of the staged battle zone.
"EEK! Help! The space-station has been overrun!"
Ho-Ho-Ho
It was definitely after Yugi had taken Mai to Otogi's and returned to his own place to find Rebecca all but putting Atem through a lie-detector test while Arthur and Solomon were recalling their previous adventures to the slightly bemused Hawkins and a slightly glassy-eyed Leon von Shrouder when Seto finally got his chance to speak to Akio about his mother.
The game had been diverting to say the least and no amount of psychological necessity had been able to keep Seto from throwing himself into the competition. Much like Yugi and Atem, when given the opportunity Seto could not resist a challenge in any form.
It had taken Akio and himself three hours to decide on a winner. Akio kept crying out for one more round and his scores were always so surprisingly close to Seto's that the usually arrogant brunette hadn't even thought to refuse a match.
Eventually though Seto had to admit that he was being a little bit TOO childish, even for his own company, and he'd forfeited to his young competitor and had taken the boy to the on-site cafeteria to wait for the announcement from the front-desk about the boy's chaperone.
"What did I tell ya? I've got mad Matrix skills! Freaking Neo wouldn't be able to dodge a hit from me," Akio was still preening over his victory as he ate through a basket of onion-rings covered in mustard and a plate of yakitori skewers drenched in soy-sauce.
"Akio, before we had our game, do you remember what you were telling me about your mother," Seto snatched at the open opportunity.
Akio seemed to stumble at the sudden return of the subject but he nodded his head just the same.
"Well I've been meaning to tell you that I think you may be judging the woman a little too harshly," Seto sighed, rubbing his temples against a slight ache. "I know I have no real way of …of assessing the situation with as much clarity as-"
"Mister Kaiba, you and I just spent like three hours screaming at the top of our lungs while shooting fake lasers at guys dressed in rubber-foam alien costumes, ya don't have to talk like an adult again just because we're having a 'real' conversation," Akio giggled slightly making Seto's headache wane immediately.
"Yes, I …I sometimes forget what I must sound like to others. Usually I only keep company with other men who like to talk as though they've swallowed a few volumes of the encyclopedia," Seto said with a faint but remarkably open grin. Unlike the other times today that he had smiled, this time Seto felt like he wasn't simply acting as a man who ran a business for children, but rather a teenager who just happened to be looking after a kid.
"It's okay. I can tell that you're just sort of stuck in an old habit," Akio shrugged as he turned to his chocolate coke –an apparently all-America drink that was a mutation of the root-beer float which Akio had had to order specifically while still intriguing the sometimes way too tight-laced chef until he'd come out to ask a few questions about it--.
"As I was say, I think you may be judging your mother a little too harshly. What you said about her liking business more than liking you, while being possible…could also simply be a way for your mother to be hiding."
"Hiding…why would my mother want to hide?" Akio stared at Seto as if he'd grown a pair of fuzzy antennae like the aliens they'd beaten.
"Like I said, I don't know this for certain but…what you have to understand is that sometimes adults…well we're just as prone to fear and embarrassment as children only we are even worse at admitting it than the most stubborn bully you have ever known. Your mother no doubt loves her job, otherwise she might have quit when she and your father were first having trouble. Only…when it comes to you she might not be choosing work over your company…she might simply be afraid that she can't control what happens between you and her in the same way she can control the way she meets clients and makes deals in her business. You see…more than children adults love to feel in control. It makes us feel…well in a way I suppose control is what makes us feel that we truly are adults. And when…when things come along that can't be controlled…things such as relationships with people we love…we want to retreat back into the things that can be controlled rather than take a risk…. Do you understand anything that I've said to you?"
With the strange focus only a child could have while chewing on a mouthful of onion rings Akio slowly nodded his head. Once he finished chewing Akio coughed and said; "Ya I guess I understand only…well it just sounds weird to me. I mean sure people are hard to control but why would that be scary?"
"Because the rest of adult life is so controlled," Seto sighed. "It's the contrast that makes it terrifying as well as the fact that people are so much harder to fix if you do something wrong. You never know how long it might take you to get a reservation at the better sort of restaurant and-"
"Wait, wait, pull it back there buddy," Akio interrupted Kaiba yet again. "I was getting ya that time right up until you started talking about restaurants and crap."
"Maybe that was a bit of a older example but sometimes when an adult wants to make an apology that have to come up with some pretty expensive gestures of affection and-"
"That is such bullcrap!" Akio wailed. "A three-hundred dollar rack of lamb can't make up for a fight and a thousand dollar diamond sure as hell can't make up for the special times you've missed! Your money can't show love, only your love can show love!"
The argument had the ring of absolute child logic to it that always made parents feel enriched by their children and yet Seto couldn't help but feel like Akio's words were a personal attack.
(A/N: Somebody is still feeling guilty for brushing off a dinner-date aren't they?)
"When you're a kid maybe that sort of logic hold true but when you've got the sorts of responsibilities that I have, when you can't spend the amount of time you want, or the sort of attention you want on someone then it's nearly impossible to do anything besides rely on gestures and games. It's cut-throat in the world of business and only those who are rich enough or smart enough can have the leisure to actually-"
Akio was looking at Seto like he'd grown feelers against so Seto forced his grant to come to a grinding stop. It was actually pretty easy when Seto realized it wasn't Akio that he was upset. It was another person…one who kept invading his thoughts and making him feel guilty and awkward and out of control when it should have been THAT person feeling all those things.
Jou was the one chasing after him, damn it, Seto shouldn't have to worry like this when it was JOU doing the chasing.
"Mister Kaiba, you're really weird. It's like you don't even know you're still a kid."
"I'm not a kid," Seto smirked ruefully.
"Anyone who can zap aliens over his shoulder like you can has at least a LITTLE bit of a kid left in them," Akio said holding up his thumb and index finger with a small demonstrative space between the tips.
While Seto was digesting the fact that someone on this planet besides his own little brother could see him as more than the stoic genius that ran Kaiba Corp the overhead speakers blared for a young Emichō-san to meet his chaperone at the front entrance.
"Well…it was really fun today Mister Kaiba. I'll come again tomorrow just like you said I could so…don't forget to come and play with me some more," Akio said as he slid out of his seat and headed towards the door.
"No I…I always hold to my promises," Seto promised. Akio flashed another one of those gap-toothed grins then twirled around and was gone…leaving Seto alone with a tangled web of new thoughts to navigate.
"I am not a kid," Seto repeated to himself, "not a kid."
Obviously not believing himself Seto experimentally reached out for one of Akio's remaining onion rings and he bit at it experimentally as if it could prove the answer one way or another.
Much to the CEO's surprise he liked the taste and he finished off the ring in a single chomp.
Ho-Ho-Ho
After Jounouchi had finished his shower and tried to sleep in his new haircut, and after Yugi and Atem managed to escape the party going on downstairs to retreat to the duel king's bedroom to fall asleep twined together, and after Seto rescued Mokuba from another Smart Kuriboh© meltdown to go home to bed…another young man sat awake.
Despite the lateness of the hour and despite his partner having crept in to sleep at his side Bakura found that rest eluded him.
Instead of restful thoughts of his aibou scampering through the house continuing to decorate the last few corners of the house that he and the dark one had missed, Bakura's thoughts kept coming back to the less appealing parts of the day.
In particular his mind kept coming back to what Lawrence Bakura had been saying about him…about how he was a damned soul with a corrupt nature…and how it was only a matter of time before that sort of darkness would fall out of Bakura's control and cause Ryou serious pain.
And for the first time in all his eons of living Bakura was of a clear enough mind to wonder if maybe…maybe that old homophobic bastard…didn't have a point.
ENDCHAPTER
Masaka: *holding up throbbing wrists* Oooouchies!
Yami Masaka: That's the only problem with these laptops…the angle of the keyboard does nothing for the comfort of the user's joints.
Jason: Well at least you've finished another chapter. Just one or two…maybe three more chapters and then you're done.
Masaka: If I have the time. Even though it's winter break I'm stilling going for my permit
Yami Masaka: That driver's permit you didn't get when you were sixteen?
Jason: That permit whose written test you failed today even after carrying around the driver's manual for months?
Masaka: *sinking into the dark tentacle embrace of her perfectionist side*
Yami Masaka: Ack! *whacking the personal demon with her specially designed stilettos* Jason, you dumb mutt, you aren't supposed to mention tests to a perfectionist, don't you know anything?
Jason: What? It's not like it's that unusual to fail the first written test at the DMV. Her own boyfriend admitted to failing it…hell her dad said he'd failed a bunch of times for a motorcycle license.
Yami Masaka: Logic has nothing to do with a perfectionism attack!
Jason: Sheesh it's not like we can't help her study tonight if she wants
Masaka: *restored and ready with a highlighter, pencil and three copies of the driver's manual for Arizona drivers* Okay then shall we get started.
Yami Masaka: *glowers at Jason*
Jason: *really-not-happy-to-study-when-could-be-sleeping look* Ya we're…ready
Masaka: Ah yes! But before we go to that there are a few things to say about the chapter. First of all…I HATE writing Seto Kaiba
Yami Masaka: The man has one of those stoic personalities that is hard to motivate to do anything at the same time he has this almost too personal genius side of him that makes us have to try and think up head-games that a CEO might play.
Masaka: I got lucky with that bit about tricking the secretary into thinking he was going to the Christmas party so that he could get out of WORKING on the Christmas party thing but I'm not sure how much else really worked.
Jason: And we think it's true that Seto must like kids more than adults. I mean the man made a freaking AMUSEMENT PARK to challenge Yugi the first time he was defeated in the manga.
Masaka: Also I feel very happy that I managed to tack on that little moment of ringshipping at the end of this chapter. There is going to be DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA like you've never seen from that pairing before the end because honestly Bakura was made for drama but…well they sort of have a face-pace that makes it almost impossible to break up between chapters so until Jou and Seto are mostly finished I can't start of ringshipping.
Jason: Well she CAN and she WILL…but ya the ringshipping is sort of at the climax of the story right along with Yugi's Christmas surprise for Atem.
Yami Masaka: WISH US LUCK IN FINISHING THE STORY BY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!