[DISCLAIMER: Screw the rules, I own Kaiba! . . . or not.]

In the Atsuko Townhouse

While Aglaia slept, she allowed Aphrodite to use her body to do the "research" on modern day love that she was so intent upon.

This basically consisted of Aglaia pulling up romance movie clips and syrupy picture GIFs on her computer and teaching Aphrodite how to scroll through them, which was far easier said than done. ("It is not a mouse. You are a fool!")

Every day after school, Aphrodite would impatiently rush Aglaia into giving her control, so that she could examine whatever amorous conundrum she was battling with at the time.

Rather, Aglaia would continue sewing the dress she had been working on.

Aphrodite commented on her skill being not half that of Arachne, and not a fourth that of Athena.

After a few moments, she amended, "At least sew something of value. How will you please the gods with something as simple as that?"

"It'll be beautiful," Aglaia murmured, more to herself than to the goddess as she stitched almost frantically, ignoring her bulging calluses and pricked fingers. "It'll be beautiful."

Once Upon a Strange Night

On the bus ride home that night from the mall, Aglaia found again that she would have to give a talk to Aphrodite.

The goddess had been mostly mellow up until Saturday night.

"What do you think?" Tea spun around, taking the short red flowing with her.

"You look amazing," Serenity cooed, as much like dove as anyone Aglaia had met.

The goddess' vessel nodded in agreement.

"It'll be good for dancing, too," Tea convinced herself as she continued to swish in the sheer fabric.

"Now I feel a little overdressed," Serenity giggled to herself, self-consciously smoothing out her long lavender gown.

"Don't worry. Tristan will be dressed up, too," Tea assured, to which Serenity blushed deeply.

"Who-- who said I'm going with Tristan?"

Tea stared a moment. "Oh, my mistake, I just thought, you know, that he asked you."

"It's okay," Serenity mumbled as she hid her pink-ening face with her dress as she took it off for purchase.

"Aren't you going to get anything, Aglaia?" Tea quickly changed the subject.

"No, I've already got a dress."

"All right then."

Later that night, the three went to see their planned movie, Heavenly Forest. It had gotten rocket-ship reviews from all of the critics as being the best pure love movie in years.

As the girls watched (in a see of other girls, as scarce males), Aglaia found herself with a sleepy tingling, as though her head (a radio) was tuning itself.

A voice came on vaguely, as it always did, getting louder and clearer as it came.

"What a blessed love! Surely a work of wonder. My son Eros must still be about!"

Aglaia did her best to ignore the voice. At first it was easy, until the angst-filled, obligatory conflict became evident.

"What?! If the boy truly loved her, then would he not cross oceans for her?! How can he simply surrender her and shy away! Take her from that liar, foolish boy, or die alone!"

Beside Aglaia sat Serenity, who was reacting emotionally to every plot's turn, and Tea, who did the same on a more subtle level.

It wasn't until they heard her screaming that they turned and saw something wrong.

"If you love her go after her!" Aglaia shouted in a voice that was not her own.

She immediately slammed her palms over her mouth in mortification.

But still, the words "foolish boy" came out.

"Take her back" was muffled through her hands, but the shouting didn't stop until her disobedient body was dragged out of the theater by two ushers.

Serenity and Tea followed the rear, looking acutely dismayed.

"Why did you do that?" Tea demanded as Serenity simply pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.

"I-- I'm sorry!" Aglaia bowed her head down to hip level. Her voice was that of a mouse. "I-- I've got to go!"

And with that, she ran to the bus stop without turning back.

In The Atsuko Townhouse

Sunday was movie night.

Like waring countries convening for the Olympics, the Atsuko family allowed themselves an evening of peace every weekend.

"I'll never understand this," Hiroto decided to his son Kenichi.

"Come on, Dad. It's not that hard. You've just got to watch your attack and defense points, keep score of your life points, and--" Kenichi Atsuko droned on in an attempt to educate his father in the ways of Duel Monsters.

Kalliope popped popcorn and Aglaia coiled up on the couch with the latest copy of Vivi.

"Ooh, good news!" Kalliope tittered as she entered the dark living room, filling it with the smell of butter.

Kenichi instinctively groaned and his father slapped him over the head(with no malice at all).

"I've found us a new church!"

The rest of the family took time to process this thought.

"You see, that check out girl-- Ayaka was her name, we were talking about horoscopes and she says, 'You know, I really don't believe in those things, I'm Christian myself,' and I was so excited! I said to her, I said, 'I'm Christian, too'! And then--" Kalliope continued to drawl on, but Aglaia stared carefully at her ring.

She knew she would have to face this topic someday.

Domino High School

"If I was interested in dating," he reestablished, "it wouldn't be with a girl like you."

The girl's hopeful face fell like collapsing building.

It was a warm Monday of spring, and Seto Kaiba was exceedingly annoyed (as per the usual).

"What makes these girls think these kind of things?"

"What? Is that it?" Miyuki Kawazaki, the recent transfer from Kyoto, made the mistake that girls who knew Seto would never make.

"That's it," he assured her, straightening his school uniform and continuing down the hall like a moving statue.

"But how can you say that! How can you be so cruel!" The girl made the fatal error of mistaking Kaiba for someone with a warm heart behind a cold exterior, an error many women liked to make.

Seto continued down the hall. Normally he wasn't this remorseless about it and let the girl off easy, but this one was specifically intent.

"She doesn't get it, does she?"

"You-- you're an ass hole! At least spare my feelings!"

"I did," he thought, "The first two times."

"Screw you, then!" Miyuki wiped her face and renounced him.

Kaiba only wondered what made her think anything in the first place, but quickly discarded the thought.

He really didn't care.

"You-- you know, if you're interested."

Her round face rose like a balloon.

It was a warm Monday of spring, and Aglaia was unusually elated.

"Can. . . can he be serious?"

"Um. . . is that a yes or a no?" By the looks of it, as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, Ryou Bakura was taking it as a no.

"No-- no! I mean, uh, no, it's-- it's not a no." Aglaia could feel her face reddening and her ears burning. "I-It's a yes. I-- I would like to-- to--"

"To go to the dance with me?" he smiled sheepishly.

Aglaia nodded stupidly.

"Okay then. I'll see you there, meet you at Hotel Shinagawa-- you know-- where the dance is." He turned on tail and didn't look back.

It didn't occur to her until long after Ryou (just-returned-from-living-in-England-with-his-father Ryou) was gone that before this she had never said a word to him, nor him to her.

[Kaiba! For once! Ah, as the story progresses, I assure you there will be more and more Kaiba. Should I just put a big KAIBA sign over the top of every chapter so that you can skip ones without him? Oh, question! Do you think that I should put out longer chapters or shorter, more frequent ones?]