Kaiba stared at the folded note, his mind rapidly debating what to do with it.
Notes, he knew, were an idiosyncrasy of adolescent males and females, a childish way to communicate or convey that which couldn't or shouldn't be directly stated, something very blatantly not his "style".
His gaze scanned the empty hallway for any sign of the person who had placed the note in his locker, finding none.
He gently pried it out from between the slits and tucked it deep into his pocket; whatever it said would have to wait, for a more important matter now occupied his mind.
He quietly shut his locker and began walking down the empty hall, avoiding the administrator's gazes as he passed the school offices, knowing they dared not ask questions. His pristine black shoes squeaked loudly as he made his way upon the gleaming tile, twists and turns finally depositing him at the end of a lonely hallway, the library doors standing imposingly above him.
They stood in an impeccable oak wood carving, elegant details and golden handles reflecting his sea blue eyes as they peered in through the glass center of the doors, finding no one but an old man in a grey vest, crouched as he lined books on a low shelf.
His hands wrapped confidently around the outstretched handle, his steps becoming instantly muffled by the carpet beneath, concealing his entrance to everyone but one silver eyed girl.
She stepped out of the Southern School Services office having just obtained her identification and online password when the sight crossed her gaze.
Seto Kaiba stood before the library doors, peering inside.
Silver was quick to scan the secluded hallway for anyone else who might be watching, her eyes meeting no one else.
He carried a pair of books in his hands but not a faded pink hall pass like the one sitting between her fingers, clearly his escapade was clandestine.
Just as she took a step in the opposite direction to grant Kaiba the privacy she knew he'd want after his outburst, he pulled open the door and in one swift movement let himself in.
No doubt his lawyers were the best money could afford, but it was time he started taking matters into his own hands, dirtying his fingers with the work those men should have done a long time ago.
He entered to the smell of wood and books, its warmth contrasting with the cold knot settling into his stomach.
A deafening silence reigned over the vast room, its high ceilings meeting at yet another imperial dome. Tasteful paintings as well as literary posters hung selectively on the cream colored walls, wooden panels concealing the corners where the distinct walls met, like a friend who hid two kissing teens from their peers.
The crouched man remained absorbed in the task at hand, not even glancing in Kaiba's direction as he set the pair of books he carried on a cart marked "Lost and Found", making a mental note to retreat them later.
He rounded an empty table and immediately dipped himself into an isle of books, the crystal chandeliers above him lighting his path. Titles and authors rushed by him in a frenzy as he snaked his way through isles and rows of endless stories, his eyes and ears ever alert, searching for signs of a foreign presence.
The sky outside poured itself in through monstrous windows, its pale facade making the room seem as if it were floating on a cloud surrounded only by the heavens, a dizzying effect if contemplated for too long.
An assuring silence remained as Kaiba finally rounded the last corner, reaching a small wooden door marked "Basement. Personnel Only." He scoffed at the warning and clicked the door open, knowing said personnel never locked anything that needed concealing.
He gently shut the door behind him, clicking the lock in place as he stood atop a narrow staircase. A vast room extended itself before his eyes, the remnants of a posh wine cellar now turned into the school's private archive.
Wooden panels stretched across the high ceiling that held but few dim lights hung in place by a sole wire. Several metallic cabinets sat propped up against the musty walls, each labeled with different letters of the alphabet, gleaming beneath the discreet lights.
His steps echoed loudly as he began his short descent then crossed the room, reaching the file cabinets, eyes in place.
He mentally cursed the situation his life had brought him to involve himself in as he crouched to read the small letters written on paper labels, searching for the one marked:
'H-M'
Skyelaar stood outside the classroom window small droplets of water falling through her as instinctively as they fell through air. Her green eyes penetrated the glass, searching for her.
After his now infamous disappearance into the bathroom, the girl left behind had been surrounded by a multitude of teens, asking about his outburst, about her relationship with him, tearing into their personal lives.
She vehemently denied having any sort of relationship with him, excusing his outburst as a natural reaction to a teen as stressed as he was.
The crowd soon dissipated in disinterest, excluding a select few.
Yugi and his group of friends were quick to form a circle around the girl, their warm smiles and gentle words approaching the situation at a more discreet pace, urging her not to think the outburst had been personal, it was merely Kaiba's way of treating everyone around him.
She smiled at their words and nodded sympathetically, though her silver orbs concealed a contradiction, they spoke of a certainty that it was personal.
She thanked them and accepted their invitation to spend lunch in their company, words of the CEO curtly buried away.
Skyelaar felt a pang in her heart upon the realization that neither teen was sitting in the classroom, both their desks empty.
Anger welled up into her eyes at the thought of having her plans ruined by a simple schoolgirl, certainly she posed no match to an undying love of many years.
No, no she wouldn't, in fact, she would benefit her plan to perfection.
Kaiba held his breath as he pulled out a set of keys from his pocket, a tangle of metallic objects swinging loudly as they moved, like a wind chime during a storm.
He quickly selected the largest one and pushed it into the awaiting lock, twisting it this way and that way until the lock gave out and clicked open.
His advanced devices always posed an advantage to him, even in situations he would have never imagined.
He slid open the metal drawer, revealing an infinite row of files, each section tabbed with letters ranging from 'H' to 'M'. His slender fingers glided rapidly across each file until reaching the tab marked 'L'.
Kaiba was well aware that any student to ingress into the school came along with a file, one that had been stacked to the brim with any and all personal information on the students. He knew that a school as prestigious as this one was at the very least thorough, gathering every last scrap of information possible.
Since his search team was gathering nothing but useless information and his planned attempts with Silver had gone down the drain, he decided it was time to do a little prying of his own, sustaining that when you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself.
He quickly skimmed through every file he didn't need until he found the one, the file marked LeRouse Silver.
The folder still held its coloring, its pristine condition a testament to just how new Silver was to the school.
Kaiba almost couldn't contain the triumphant grin making his way onto his lips, this file, he knew, had to contain something that could convince her into taking Kaiba's side in the lawsuit.
His eyes quickly scanned the room for intruders, then the stairs for oncoming people, finding neither.
His fingers gently placed the file onto his lap before pulling it open, revealing the extensive amount of papers concealed inside.
At the very front there was a birth certificate clipped beside a small baby picture of Silver, her features still not to his appeal. He skipped the first few pages that contained nothing but hospital records and certificates, her entrance into this world not considered a delight to the CEO.
He skimmed until he arrived at her school records, surely there had to be a reason she transferred schools in the middle of the year.
He read the first few lines finding she was an average student and a good classmate, teachers stated she had a strong temper and a wild sense of ambition, much like her father. She had gone through grade school without so much as a detention for turning in a classmate's assignment as her own, nothing out of the ordinary.
Kaiba continued, skipping past what he already knew or simply didn't need.
It wasn't until he arrived at the very last page that his interest peaked, for clipped to the rest of the file was a police report.
There was a date at the top, a date Kaiba recognized as being just two weeks ago, a short time before her transfer to the school. The sheet had a federal insignia stamped beside the date and a federal agent's signature at the very bottom.
Kaiba looked up at the sound of muffled chattering and distant footsteps then down at his watch, finding that the bell had long since rung.
He pulled the page out of the folder and folded it neatly, tucking it into his pocket alongside the note. He stacked the folder back amongst the files in the exact position he had initially found it in and closed the drawer, the automatic lock clicking into place.
He quietly made his way up the staircase and peeked through the peephole on the wooden door. The library had begun to fill with teens who scoured its shelves for necessary books or stood at the counter waiting to issue a return.
Kaiba saw no one looking his way or standing near the entrance when he slid his hand down to the doorknob and let himself out, quietly shutting the door behind him.
He instantly placed himself inside an empty isle then exited the other way, rapidly reaching the entrance to the library that was to be his exit.
Just as he was met with the mass of teens carrying books and backpacks, his steps stopped, an eerie screech coming from his shoes.
Doubling back, Kaiba entered the library, ignoring the questioning glares as he reached out for the books he'd placed on the lost and found cart then left the room in a hurry.
The hallway was now again crowded with teens that seemed to pay no extraordinary attention to him, his earlier outburst somewhat obliterated, much to Kaiba's relief, the last thing he needed was everyone thinking he needed a few appointments with the school counselor. Hell, they had probably already gotten use to them if anything.
Heavy sheets of rain fell against the building as the clear dome above once again became awash with torrents of water. An announcement over the P.A system informed everyone that the electricity was temporarily down due to heavy rain and that the automatic toilets were out of use.
Kaiba rolled his crystal blue eyes and remembered a motivational speech he had attended long ago. The silver haired man had said that when you found yourself in a bad situation, such as this one, you were to begin listing all the things you should be grateful for, one of said things being that the situation could probably be worse.
Kaiba began his mental list as he made his way down the hallway towards his locker, the list remaining empty upon his arrival.
True, things could probably be worse in the sense that his company could be going down the wayside and he could be stuck in a building full of primitive animals.
Hm, ironic.
Kaiba sighed and instead redirected his thoughts towards the juicy stack of paperwork that would be waiting for him at the end of the day.