Title: Of Talk Show Bickering

Pairing: KaibaxMai/Arrogantshipping

Season Six. Round Nine.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Hey big brother! Look at this!"

Kaiba looked up at Mokuba's calling voice, his eyes narrowing when the large television met his gaze, along with his little brother's pointing finger. "So?" he inquired, letting his gaze fall again back to the paperwork before him.

Mokuba wasn't going to go down with a fight. "It's Mai Valentine, remember her?"

How could he not? The prima donna had participated in both Duelist Kingdom and his own Battle City Tournament. It was surprising that she had made it to both tournaments because, as far as Kaiba was concerned, he had never seen her win a duel before. Along with that, her tough attitude was only a fake.

"What about her?" He didn't dare look up again in fear of Mokuba taunting him, but his sibling merely turned up the television's volume.

"—and welcome back. Today we have invited big Duel Monsters winner, Mai Valentine to our show to talk about her success," the host exclaimed, the crowd in the background applauding wildly. Kaiba could only imagine what she was wearing for the crowd to react like that. He resumed to his work, absently listening to the show.

"Now, although you didn't quite win Duelist Kingdom, you did have the chance to be one of the four finalists, right?"

"Absolutely, Birch," Mai replied, and Kaiba felt that her voice sounded rather like nailsit was so sweetly said.

"Now, how far off were you from winning the Battle City Tournament about a year and a half ago?" the host -Birch-asked, sounding half interested in it all.

Mai paused for a moment, and Kaiba unconsciously rolled his eyes. She didn't get very far; she basically made it to the quarter finals and then lost to that psycho Marik. "I believe it was just into the quarter finals. I think there were about...four or five other finalists left after I lost," the girl answered eventually.

"I see," Birch said, and to Kaiba's irritation, he asked, "so speaking of tournaments, what exactly do you think of the great Seto Kaiba?"

Looking up only slightly so that he'd get a glance of the television screen sideways, Kaiba was glad to see that Mokuba was glued to the screen, wondering what Mai's response would be. He listened as she talked.

"Kaiba? Well, I suppose I can say whatever I want to because I'm sure he doesn't have the time of day to watch such shows," she started smartly, and continued. "Overall, he's actually really smart and knows what he is doing. But spending as much time with him as I did...it's really not my best experience."

"Go on," the host urged, sounding interested in what Mai possibly had to bash about the great CEO.

From what Kaiba could see, the female duelist crossed her arms and pursed her lips, her attitude shining through. "He's an egotistical jerk, if you ask me. He only cares about himself, his tournaments, work and younger brother. Hell, he probably doesn't even spend enough time around his brother he's such a workaholic!"

"Really, now?" Birch sounded quite surprised, as if he had never known Kaiba was like that. The audience clapped, some adding in their own comments about the young billionaire. "Would you ever consider going out on a date with him, Miss Valentine?"

The question was absolutely absurd. Kaiba could care less about what this blonde had to say; he'd heard worse.

To his slight surprise, Mai hesitated before rolling her eyes defiantly. "Pfft, me, go out with the Seto Kaiba? Never, absolutely never. He would just make fun of my dueling skills and personally, I like a man that has some form of emotion. Kaiba, he doesn't have anything. So I have no doubts that he scares off every pretty girl or guy he goes out with his cold demeanor and harsh looks."

He hadn't realized that he was gripping his pen so hard that his knuckles had turned white. How could she say such a thing? She doesn't know him; she's just judging him, right?

"Ooh...that's rough, Miss Valentine. Do you take any of that back?" Birch asked, his eyebrows waggling in real enthusiasm. The audience leaned in to hear her answer.

"None of it," Mai replied coolly, sitting back into the plush chair.

Now, Kaiba usually was the one to brush off such statements, but this was too much. Saying that he had no emotion towards anyone and not spending any time with Mokuba was very inaccurate.

"Big brother?" Mokuba had turned the volume down as the show had cut to a line of commercials, and had noticed the sudden change in his older brother. "You okay?"

"Yes, Mokuba," Kaiba replied calmly, reaching for the phone to his right, punching in a number to find someone that would give him Miss Valentine's home address.

Mai returned home that night, weary of the day's events. She slipped off her coat and hung it on a hanger in the hallway closet and dropped her purse on the small kitchen's counter before heading into her room.

Today she had woken at five in the morning and had to drive all the way to Tokyo for an interview on one of Japan's more favorite talk shows. She had been invited about six months prior, being asked to share her Duel Monsters career with the country.

Things had gone over quite smoothly, well, until that annoying host named Birch just had to bring up Seto Kaiba. Despite seeing some very faint changes of him throughout the four years of really knowing him, Mai deeply considered him to have not changed at all.

In her opinion, Kaiba was an arrogant bastard who thought having an unlimited amount of power could bring happiness to him and his younger brother.

Mai proceeded to wash her face of her makeup and took a quick shower, overly exhausted by the long day, already half dreading what tomorrow would have to bring as she had to work her normal job as an accountant.

The next morning around seven, Mai woke rather refreshed. With her hair tangled and her sleeping clothes all ruffled, the female duelist made herself a cup of coffee and sat down reading Domino's local newspaper.

As expected, she had made a portion of the front page from her interview yesterday. She rolled her eyes when most of the article talked about her bashing the city's young billionaire.

After finishing her reading and her coffee, Mai decided to get ready for the awaiting day. She got dressed in her usual work clothes; a nice white shirt where the sleeves reached down to her elbows and some dressy black pants, all of it put together with a couple of golden bracelets and necklaces.

Going over to the bathroom, she combed and curled her hair neatly, and then opened the mirror where she kept her supply of makeup. Except, her makeup was nowhere to be found.

Biting her lip, Mai looked around the area, and when she found no trace of lipstick or eyeliner, she moved back to her bedroom, and then to the kitchen, and eventually she was back in the bathroom.

"Where did it all go?" she wondered aloud, looking at her pale and tired looking face in the mirror. She cringed, starting to become worried. She couldn't go anywhere without her makeup. It was what made her Mai Valentine.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Mai spotted something small and white. Grabbing it, she unfolded the piece of paper, finding a concealed note inside.

So you think you're the only one who can judge others based on their personality and looks? Well think again, Valentine. Have a nice day at work.

Seto Kaiba

Mai's mouth fell open and she stared at the note, reading it through over and over again until her eyes were only glued to the owner's name. Seto Kaiba. Seto Kaiba.

"That snake!" the duelist cried out. She stomped a couple times, trying to figure out what to do. She couldn't call the police; there was no way they'd do anything to the big bad Seto Kaiba. And she had to go to work; she had to skip yesterday, and not showing up today would definitely get her fired out of the only job she held as of now.

Crumpling the note in her hand, Mai huffed, and then a small smirk graced her lips as a brilliant idea came to mind.

"So you want to play it that way, Kaiba? I'm game," she said aloud, flicking back her hair and walking out of the bathroom to finish getting ready for work.

Seto Kaiba frowned the next morning. Not a single call of complaint was made throughout the day concerning Mai's beloved makeup. It was only a matter of time before something was thrown at him now.

Adjusting his tie in the full length mirror, the KaibaCorp. CEO made sure his clothes weren't wrinkled before he pulled on his shiny black shoes and grabbed his white dress coat. He left his room and made his way downstairs, coming into the expansive dining room to be met with a half-awake Mokuba.

"Morning, Seto," the youth greeted before sticking a spoonful of cereal into his mouth while flipping a page of what looked like a text book.

"Good morning Mokuba," Kaiba replied back, walking over to stand behind his little brother. "What's this?" he asked carelessly, recognizing the book to be an Earth Science text book.

Normally, Mokuba would get very flustered and shut the book to hide the fact that he didn't study the night before, but the boy must've been utterly tired for he didn't even attempt a stowaway.

"Studying for a quiz."

"I expect a good grade, Mokuba," Kaiba said flatly, going over to sit down at the end of the table. He was immediately served his coffee by one of the awaiting attendants along with a newspaper and a breakfast made up of toast and eggs.

The two ate and read in silence, and before long, it was time for the Kaiba brothers to either go to school, or go to work. They both rode in the limo, dropping Mokuba off first, and then the chauffer directed the sleek vehicle to the well known KaibaCorp.

As usual, Kaiba was promptly dropped off at the entrance to the large building, his briefcase in hand. However, upon entering the office building, he was immediately flocked with dozens upon dozens of reporters.

Some held fancy cameras, others had microphones, and nearly all of them had a small notepad in hand. They all chanted similar questions at him, making the CEO stop the moment he walked through the front door.

"Mr. Kaiba! Over here! Is it true what they say?"

"Mr. Kaiba, what are your thoughts on your decision to announce your sexual preference?"

"Who is this 'mysterious lover' of yours Mr. Kaiba?"

"Why the sudden thought to announce you are homosexual, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Do you expect your sales to go down, Mr. Kaiba?"

Cameras flashed constantly and microphones were shoved in his face, but Kaiba stared out flatly at the small crowd of rude, in-your-face reporters. He immediately knew who was behind this whole charade, and inwardly, the young billionaire smirked, rolling his eyes.

Was that the best she could do? This wasn't even a scratch.

"No comment," he emotionlessly said, proceeding to push his way through the crowd of squawking men and women, easily making it to the elevator and punching the button for the top floor.

Walking to his office when he reached the topmost floor, the Kaiba stopped at his secretary's desk for a moment, instructing her to call security. There was no reason for all of their reporters to be in the lobby all day, waiting for an answer that would never come.

The girl behind the desk nodded before picking up a phone, and Kaiba walked into his office, slapping his briefcase on his shiny desk and taking his white coat off, draping it over the back of his plush chair.

Booting up his computer, the CEO leaned his elbows on his desk, his fingers interlacing one another. He rested his chin atop the bridge, and he cleverly thought up of another way to make mess up Mai Valentine's life.

"Hello, Kumiko," the blonde greeted politely, walking into the office. Her friend waved at her distractedly, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

Smiling to herself, Mai picked up some paperwork before getting to her station behind the main desk. She started up her computer, hoping that last night's files were properly saved.

Once the box of technology confirmed this, Mai relaxed in her seat, going about with her usual routine; filing different financial papers and taking calls from Domino's citizens.

It was around lunch break when things started to go downhill.

"Hey, Mai," one of her fellow male workers said casually, an unusual smirk plastered to his face. He offered her a cup of hot coffee, seeing that Mai looked tired without all her makeup.

Mai took the offered cup from the man. "Thanks, Hiro," she thanked, keeping her gaze down as he stared at her. It was obvious she'd have to save up money to get some new makeup; Kaiba was probably not going to give it all back.

She took sips, leaning against the small lounge counter, well aware that Hiro was still eyeing her, his smirk widening considerably.

"What?" she finally snapped, slamming her now empty cup on the marble counter, glaring heatedly at her coworker.

Hiro simply leaned back, taking a bite out of his sandwich he had pulled out. "What? You haven't seen it yet?"

An eyebrow rose. "What are you talking about?"

"The e-mail that's been going around. You know..."

Pale lips hung open in confusion as Mai tried to remember all of the e-mails she opened so far today. "I haven't seen any e-mail that you speak of," she finally said with defiance.

Without warning, Hiro burst out laughing. "Then you have to take a gander at this! Whether or not you're playing dumb," he chuckled, walking out of the small lounge, and Mai followed him tentatively to his station.

Looking over Hiro's shoulder, Mai watched as the man opened the internet and then his e-mail, going through his 'save' folder. He clicked on something titled 'Slutty Me', and Mai bit her lip.

The page opened, and the blonde's eyeballs nearly fell out of her head. In bold letters, words formed together to say, 'All the Men Mai Valentine has Slept With'. She flushed as Hiro scrolled down, revealing a bunch of pictures of her ex-boyfriends.

"Who knew?" Hiro laughed, leaning back to look at her. "Everyone thought it was just a rumor, but hey, here's some sort of proof!" He laughed hysterically, and Mai blushed deeply in embarrassment.

"It's been going around, you say?" she asked quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Yup. Just about everyone's seen it. I wonder why it hasn't been sent to you."

'Because that's how it's a joke to humiliate the person,' Mai growled to herself, realizing how dumb Hiro was at that moment. And also at that moment, Mai realized who was responsible for all of this.

Turning on her heel, Mai marched away from her idiotic coworker, quickly making her way back to her space. Along the way, Mai couldn't help but blush profusely as other workers made rude and silly comments at her.

Sitting down and pulling a pen and some financial papers to her, Mai thought darkly, 'you're in for it now, Kaiba. Just wait.'

Kaiba entered the mansion, his briefcase in hand, and dress coat snug on his shoulders. Without much thought, the CEO made his way through the large house, finding the staircase and made his way upstairs where he could take a relaxing shower.

Stepping out of the steamy bathroom, with a towel firmly wrapped around his waist, Kaiba made the move to his dresser, but unexpectedly, the door rang.

Growling to himself, Kaiba cursed the fact that he had all of his staff leave early on the weekends. Quickly, he snatched a pair of boxers and put them on, ditching the towel for a silky bathrobe instead along with a pair of white ankle socks.

The doorbell rang insistently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." the youth grumbled to himself, vaguely wondering how the stranger would react to seeing him in such an unusual outfit.

When he reached the front entrance, like he had half expected, Mokuba had beaten him to answering the door.

"I got it big brother," Mokuba cheered, pulling open the large door. Kaiba crossed his arms, wondering what made the security guard down by the gate let this person pass without much thought.

His gaze steady on the doorway, Kaiba smirked when the stranger was revealed as none other than a makeup-less Mai Valentine.

"Hey Mai!" Mokuba greeted with a wide smile, surprised by her presence.

"Hello Mokuba," the woman greeted back with an equally cheery smile.

Kaiba decided to interject the greetings before Mokuba steered it into another direction about something pointless. "Mokuba," he started, "can you leave us?"

His younger brother gave him a confused look as he swerved around, and was about to ask why when he noticed Kaiba really meant it. "Okay, big brother," he said quietly, quickly making his departure up the stairs.

Mai had closed the door behind her, and was now staring intently at the great and mighty CEO himself. Kaiba stared right back, smirk returning to his face.

"So it seems that you lose, Valentine," he finally spoke. "Who knew it'd be so easy to get you to crack. Hm," he added, a taunting note laced within his usually cold and emotionless voice.

The blonde's anger and cunning attitude thrashed out. "Oh, so you automatically call me a loser to this battle when I come to your mediocre house? You're so full of yourself, Kaiba."

Kaiba's smirk fell, and his icy blue eyes hardened. He crossed his arms over his mostly concealed chest. "Then what did you come here for? To show me how you tee-peed my home? Pathetic," he scoffed.

Purple eyes widened, sarcasm dripping off her words. "How creative you are, I must say. And I only thought you were good at coming up with new and improved card games."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, and took an unexpected step forward. "Then why did you come?"

It was Mai's turn to smirk. "What else could I do? You took away what made me, me. You humiliated me in a way that I could never get you back for. Apparently my last plan to spread a fake story of you admitting your sexuality wasn't able to affect you."

Her right arm crossed right under her bust, and her left elbow rested upon the right fist. She leaned her cheek against her left fist thoughtfully, her smirk sliding into a wondrous smile. "So I thought, what else could I do? Then it hit me. Throughout the years of knowing you, I've always noticed how well your patience could hold out. Depending on the person, it could last forever, or for a couple seconds.

"I suppose your patience with a person like me could only last a few minutes at least. So I'm here to rant about how much of a pompous bastard you are." She explained fully, carefully observing the CEO's stoic face.

An elegant brow raised on the young billionaire's account. "Oh, do go on."

Her smile faltered this time, but Mai knew that she would be able to back up her forewarned introduction.

"With pleasure," she said despite her small shock, and continued. "It's obvious you do have a heart, and some feelings, despite the fact that you try not to show it. Reason I know: you raided my home and robbed me of all my makeup. When I reacted by putting a false story of you in the headlines, you reacted by sending all of my coworkers some sleazy e-mail of how much of a dirty girl I supposedly am. So consider it known that I know that you are a human being after all. Heh, who would've known?"

She had expected Kaiba to have lasted much longer, but once she ended her small speech, she had realized that the young man had gotten closer to her. She stared straight into those blue eyes, curious as to what he'd think of it.

"So that's what this is all about? To see if I'd react? Well, to tell you the truth, Valentine, I think that you're the first person to really tell that to my face."

"Huh?" Mai was confused. Kaiba was supposed to make fun of her, wasn't he?

His voice was stern, and Mai felt her face heat up as she realized Kaiba's next words were painfully forced and uncomfortable.

"I admire that," he stated, his eyes set into purple ones. "I really do."

Before Mai could register anything that happened next, she suddenly watched him bend down to her height, and lips pressed against hers. A long arm wrapped itself carefully around her neck, not allowing her to escape. In the long run, Mai gave in without a fight, embracing the odd behavior.

Kaiba was the one to pull away first, discreetly taking his thumb and wiping the small trail of saliva off the corner of his mouth. Mai smirked as she saw this.

"Now, now...what's this all about?" she asked curiously, a hint of a teasing note in her voice. She rested her hands on her hips. "Does Seto Kaiba have a crush?"

Unexpectedly, Kaiba smirked, and his words came naturally now. "Don't get too excited," he replied. Through it all, he had felt some type of excitement when he first fought back against Mai's thoughts about him. And when she had shown up only ten minutes before, he had quickly made the decision not to let her go.

"You might want to repeat that to yourself," Mai countered, showing teeth with a smile.

His lips fell, and he gave the blonde an absent look. "I'll be right back," he said before turning around to go fetch what he needed. Mai didn't seem to mind his sudden leave and stood where she was, waiting for his return.

When he did return, Mai immediately recognized what he was holding in a large zip-lock bag.

"Aw, you are such a big push over; you know that, right?"

"No. I just don't want you to look like crap when we next meet."

A thought to slap the CEO crossed the female duelist's mind, but she thought better of it and simply scoffed, "only you would fall for a girl like me though." She took the offered bag of makeup.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Meet you Friday night, then?" he asked, coming closer to Mai.

Placing a manicured hand on the young Kaiba's chest, Mai gave him a look that shouted 'absolutely'. "Till then..." she trailed off with a smirk, loving the look of a mixed emotion she could not quite depict on the taller's face as she let herself out of the large mansion.