"But does she really wanna,

But can't stand to see me walk out the door.

Don't try to fight the feeling,

Because the thought alone is killing me right now."

Hey Ya by Outkast

XIX

Winter break came and went so soon everything had returned back to normal. School began once more, people returned from vacation to go back to work, and life seemed as though nothing had ever changed. Things had changed, however, and for Seto… his entire perspective on life had been warped practically overnight. Kisara continued to work for Seto as she always had but Seto could never seem to focus on his work the way he had before. Having Kisara work from across the room had become so distracting. How had he ever gotten any work done before?

As much as they tried to keep their romance out of the work place, it was difficult dealing with the attraction they felt towards each other. Admittedly, Seto had spent some days doing no work at all. They would take a five minute coffee break together which would then turn into a five hour long conversation. Their topic of conversation ranged from everything under the sun and sometimes even the beyond. Kisara was so interesting, so intriguing, so full of thoughts and feelings. She had so much to say and Seto had to admit that at times, he would get lost just staring at her. He loved to listen, but her beauty was beyond anything he had ever seen. It was as though the more he got to know her, the more attractive she became and the more attractive she became the more he began to feel—

"Mr. Kaiba, there's someone here to see you." Seto jumped at the sound of his secretary's voice originating from the intercom on his desk. Kisara had seen the sudden movement from the corner of her eye and looked up from the laptop in front of her.

"Well, who is it? Did I have an appointment scheduled with someone?" Seto looked over at Kisara, searching for an answer. Kisara quickly opened the calendar of appointments on the laptop but found there was no appointments scheduled, at least not for a couple hours. Kisara looked back at Seto and shook her head.

"No, this person says they didn't schedule an appointment with you, Sir."

"Well then, send them away. I'm not running a book signing here, no one can just walk in here and expect to see me."

"He says he knows you personally and that you'd want to meet with him." It was at that moment that Kisara became intrigued with the identity of this guest, as well as Seto. There weren't very many people who could claim to have known Seto 'personally' so the idea that this person said they did made the situation a lot more interesting.

"Send him up," Seto said into the intercom after a long pause. Kisara got up from her desk and walked over to him.

"Who do you think it could be?" Kisara asked.

"I'm not sure. Probably just another lunatic I can add to my restraining order list. It's better these people come to me than for me to have an altercation with them on the street."

"Oh, I see." Kisara was still just getting used to dating a pseudo-celebrity. Even though Seto and Kisara had been dating for a little over a month, his celebrity status was a lot to get used to. Always having to rent out private restaurants and have body guards whenever they were in public took a bit of getting used to but after a while, she had seen the value in having to rent out entire restaurants and having body guards surrounding them every second. The world was crazy… crazy about them! For a while, their pictures were the only things put on the front page of magazines. It was strange but Kisara was so happy to be with Seto that she didn't care.

The atmosphere became instantly filled with tension when the door opened and a man in a red suit stepped inside. Seto immediately rose to his feet.

"Why the hell did my secretary let you in?" Seto said loudly, borderline yelling at the intruder. The man smirked.

"For the right price, people are willing to do anything. Besides, I know for a fact you don't pay your workers enough so it's not surprising that they fall for bribes so easily," then the attention was shifted from Seto to Kisara, "I bet you don't even pay this one enough to work here and be your girlfriend at the same time." He held out his hand towards Kisara, "My name is Pegasus, by the way. Maximillion Pegasus."

Kisara reached out to shake his hand but Seto stepped in between them. "What is it that you want, Pegasus? Why are you here? Explain yourself."

"What's wrong with wanting to visit a dear old friend of mine?"

"How about we start with the fact that we aren't friends and end with you leaving my office before I'm forced to call security?" Kisara felt a little out of place being present during the conversation Seto was having for Pegasus. It didn't involve her and yet she couldn't help but want to see more. Seto was so angry and Pegasus was so… cordial. She knew Pegasus was in charge of Industrial Illusions but she wasn't aware of the issues they had with one another outside of owning companies that worked in the same field.

Pegasus then turned to her, "So this is the famous Kisara Safiya that's been making all the headlines these days? My, her face is even prettier than it is on those magazines. And you must be bright if you're able to keep up with Seto Kaiba over here and all the work he has you do." Seto turned away to look at Kisara.

"Kisara, how about you take your break right now? Go grab some lunch or something. Have Isono drive you and I'll see you in twenty minutes."

"Oh, are you sure? I was just in the middle of building that client spreadsheet you wanted me to make."

"It's fine, you can do it when you get back. I'll see you in twenty." Kisara slowly nodded and then grabbed her coat and left. If Seto wanted to give her a break and pay for the time she was taking to eat rather than work, she would take it. Seto waited for her to leave and shut the door before speaking again. "So what is this really about, Pegasus? You better get to the point and tell me why you're here or I'm going to have you thrown out."

"May I have a seat?" Pegasus asked, taking the chair placed in front of Seto's desk before sitting down, "How's your brother?" Seto's eyes narrowed and said nothing. Pegasus looked all around. "I don't see him here. I expected to see him when I came considering he usually never leaves your side but I suppose you don't require his attendance with that little assistant of yours around."

"If I were you, I would stop before you say something that really pisses me off. Just get to the point already. I know you came here for a reason so why don't you just spit it out." Pegasus sighed.

"Oh, Kaiba-boy, I was only trying to feign interest in your pathetic life but yes, you're right. I didn't come all this way to hear about how your brother's doing," Pegasus crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, "I wanted to give you a heads up about the spy that's working within your company. With the Tokyo Game Show coming up in July, I thought you would want to know that someone within Kaiba Corp. has given your hologram technology blueprints to another gaming company and said company is planning on showing off your inventions to pass them as their own." Seto started to laugh.

"Oh please, a spy? Do you take me for an idiot or something, Pegasus? I know for a fact that none of my blueprints were 'stolen' but rather my business was transferred from one potential client to you. How dare you walk into this office and act like you have no idea that it's your company that is responsible for stealing my client's business."

"You think that stolen business is the only thing at stake here? Kaiba, you are sorely mistaken. This is about so much more than a stolen client, someone has stolen your blueprints and sold it to another company." Seto's eyes narrowed, not willing to believe one word that was coming out of Pegasus's mouth.

"Do you take me for some sort of fool? You're just making this whole thing up because you have nothing to show this year at the biggest gaming convention in Japan."

"I'm telling you the truth. There's someone in your company who is making big bucks off of your ideas."

"Even if that was true, which it's not, but even if it was, why should I believe you of all people? How could you know about something like this unless you were the one buying the blueprints from this so-called 'spy'?" Pegasus sighed.

"Because the spy tried to sell the blueprints to me." Pegasus waited patiently for Seto's reply, studying his reaction to the news. He didn't appear shocked in the least. In fact, he didn't seem shocked at all. If anything, Seto seemed annoyed by what Pegasus had told him than anything else.

"Is this your idea of some kind of joke? If so, you've wasted a very long plane ride over here. If that's all you came to say, then you can leave."

"Kaiba, I don't think you understand. I didn't come all the way here to prank you. I came here because…" Pegasus paused for a moment before continuing, "Despite our differences and the issues we had in the past, I do respect you and consider us friends… to a certain extent." Pegasus's eyes suddenly shifted to Kisara's laptop. It had been left open on her desk. Seto caught on to where Pegasus's attention had fallen but he was uninterested in the implications of it. At that moment, he was just insulted that Pegasus would dare to call him his 'friend.'

"Look Pegasus, I don't need your 'heads up' or anything that could be interpreted as help. I am especially uninterested in help from you. We ARE NOT and WILL NEVER BE friends, you got that? After you kidnapped my brother, locked him in a dungeon on a remote island, and tried to take over my company, you're going to have the audacity to say we're friends and you're just trying to help me out? Who the hell do you think you are?" Seto picked up the phone on his desk and started dialing. "Get me security right away, please."

Pegasus rose from his seat as Seto viciously threw down the phone onto the receiver. "You don't need to worry, I can escort myself out." Pegasus turned towards the door and started walking.

"So now you know how to take a hint? Get out of my sight." Just before Pegasus opened the door, he stopped and turned back around.

"You know, she really is beautiful." Seto looked up, his eyes suddenly burned with rage as he rose from his seat.

"You stay away from her. You got that? If you so much as stay in the same room with her…" Pegasus shook his head.

"You can't protect her. And you know that… don't you?" Seto's body froze for a second before immediately responding.

"You're wrong."

"This girl… Kisara? She's not your brother. She doesn't live with you. You can't possibly think having her work here in your office four hours a day, five days a week, will really keep her out of harm's way. It won't. You can't." Before Seto could answer, just before security arrived, a split second before Seto contemplated smashing Pegasus's face into the door… his cell phone rang. Seto picked up the phone right away.

"What is it?" Seto demanded to know from the voice on the other side.

"Master Kaiba, it's Isono. I'm calling to report to you that Kisara's been assaulted. We're at a coffee shop a couple blocks away with the police. Kisara's fine but she's a little shaken up." Seto hung up the phone before speaking. By then, security had arrived and was in the process of escorting Pegasus to the elevator. Seto dashed out of the office without any sort of coat on, and ran towards the elevator. He didn't bother to try and hear what Pegasus called out to him as he passed. All he cared about was getting to Kisara.

"Isono, you really didn't have to call the police and you definitely didn't have to call Seto. I'm fine, really," Kisara stated to Isono, slightly annoyed by the EMT that was looking her over to make sure she was okay. The fact was that she was okay and the only thing that happened was that some guy in the coffee shop was getting a little too close for comfort. Or, well, more than just a little too close for comfort, but still.

Everyone's heads turned as Seto burst through the door. "Where is she?!" Seto yelled. Kisara stood up.

"Um, hi there." Seto quickly ran to her.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?" Seto was examining her body from head to toe.

"Seto, I'm fine. Really. Please calm down. It was nothing."

"It must've been more than something. The police are here and there's an ambulance outside! Isono told me you were assaulted."

"But I really wasn't." Seto raised an eyebrow at her.

"You weren't?"

"Master Kaiba, allow me to explain," Isono stated, joining Seto and Kisara's conversation, "While we were waiting for our coffee to be made, a strange man in his mid-twenties came up to Kisara and started asking questions about the state of her relationship with you. When she politely told the man to leave her alone, he continued to bombard her with questions to the point where she tried to leave. When she did this, the man grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her backwards trying to keep her from leaving…"

"And then the next thing you know, Isono grabs the guy by the shoulders and throws him to the ground like some kind of martial artist! It was pretty remarkable. Not sure when he had time to call the cops but it seemed like five seconds later, the cops were all here. It was insane!" Kisara cut in, "The reflexes on that guy are amazing but like I said, it was nothing." Seto's face was expressionless. Kisara couldn't tell what he was feeling and she was worried that she had upset him.

"Is this all true, Isono?" Isono nodded.

"Look, Seto, I'm really sorry. I didn't know this would happen." Seto turned to Isono.

"Would you answer any further questions the police have about this? I need a moment alone with Kisara." Isono nodded, moving the people who were still in the coffee shop outside to give Seto and Kisara some space. Kisara turned her head at Seto's touch as he held her wrists in his hands. His eyes were fixated only on what was in his hands.

"I can't protect you." Kisara had the slightest idea of where the conversation was going and refused to participate. She pulled her wrists back.

"I don't need protection. I'm a grown woman."

"He could've hurt you and even if he couldn't, there are others out there that can," Seto looked up, "I don't want to be the reason that you get hurt. I can't do this to another person in my life."

"Don't say that, Seto. Please don't say that. I can take self-defense classes. I can carry brass knuckles. I'll do anything just to get you to stop looking at me like we're breaking up." Seto wasn't sure what else there was to it. The last thing he wanted was to drag another innocent person into his dangerous life. Seto couldn't recall how much his brother had suffered because of the power he held in Domino City. Most days he tried to avoid thinking about it out of guilt and the immense self-loathing it would bring. The longer he was with Kisara, the worse it would be. He had to break it off before she really got hurt.

"You better stop it right now. Stop looking at me that way. I know what you're thinking and it's not going to happen." Seto broke out of his deep train of thought and looked at Kisara again. He decided it was too late to reason with her. Now he had to act angry.

"You don't get to decide. Whether or not you're aware of what you're getting yourself into doesn't matter. This stops right now." Seto turned away, hoping that the phrase 'this stops right now' effectively meant that he and Kisara had broken up. Kisara grabbed his hand before he could walk away from her.

"Nope, that's not how this is going to work. You are not going to break up with me over this. You like me… at least I think you like me. And you know what? I like you too. And now we're in this together, no matter what dangers it may bring."

"You don't understand. I have to do this! I don't want to hurt you."

"And guess what? I don't want to get hurt either but I guess that makes two of us who can't listen to our own advice because the fact of the matter is, if you really didn't want to hurt me, you wouldn't have kissed me the night we went to that party together." Seto didn't have anything to say to that and Kisara was happy he didn't. She grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss, the same way she had the night they had gotten together only that time it was different. That time Seto wasn't surprised, he was happy. He was happy to try and believe he lived in a world where Kisara could be safe and they could be together. Kisara was happy too, for not only did her method seemed to have worked in providing Seto proof that they could work as a couple but she also couldn't help but be grossly aware of the fact that it was February 7th which meant one thing.

Valentine's Day was in a week.

A/N: GASP. Valentine's Day is in a week?! You know what that means… yep, next chapter is the Valentine's Day chapter! Woohoo! I know how excited you all must be. I myself already have a bit of a head start on the next chapter just to show you how excited I am for it. I'm gonna be honest, I was actually thinking about skipping the holiday just because they've been going out for so little time but then I realized… that's a perfect Valentine's Day experience to write! Especially since I can draw from my own experience. Valentine's Day was our two month anniversary when my boyfriend and I first started going out so I'll probably end up drawing a lot of the chapter from my own experience which should be fun. ;D Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone! I'm glad you all have been enjoying this as much as I have. I hope you enjoyed the 10/11/12 update. See you in a month!

P.S: I love the song, "Hey Ya" so much… both the original and the acoustic version!