Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu-Yu Hakusho, Hikaru no Go, Stargate SG1 or Slayers.
Ok, Pirates of the Caribbean is coming out soon so I decided to do this little intermission and tell a funny story about Shuura the pirate girl from Kenshin or at least my AU version of her! The story happens just after Mai loses to Marik in Battle City however I changed the outcome to my liking!
To be the Strongest
Intermission II: Seto tells a pirate story!
"For now let us continue…" Aoshi said his mind drifting back in time again. Temporarily banishing the doubts and fears Misao's indecision caused him to continue telling Seto his story. Just then the contagious rhythms and sonorous voice of Celia Cruz – the queen of salsa – blasted from the speaker system of the Kaiba Mansion's ballroom. Aoshi looked up and sighed.
"I'm sorry Seto but I'm not going to be able to get out of this!" he said with an apologetic smirk as he got up from his chair. Seto frowned confused.
"Where are you going?" he asked as he turned and saw Misao hurrying towards them with a big grin on her face.
"I'll be back in a few minutes…" he sighed. Seto got up and followed out of sheer curiosity. Misao caught up with them halfway and grabbing both Seto and Aoshi by the wrist she pulled them faster towards the rest of the partygoers. Seto sat down in between Hiei and Yugi rolling his eyes at the stupid look on Yugi's face as he watched Anzu dance with her brother.
Seto watched in astonished silence as the scene unfolded. Sano danced with his little sister while Yugi looked on at the verge of drooling. Hannya had been coaxed off the couch by Shuura. Kurama danced with Victoria and Hiei seemed grateful to have escaped that fate. Jou was receiving some rudimentary instruction on how to dance salsa from Mai and it seemed like that mutt had finally found his calling.
Most people had in fact paired off and cheerfully danced. The most amazing sight in Seto's mind however was Aoshi! Aoshi whose body moved in perfect synch with both his partner and the musical tones of Celia Cruz; a musical choice put forth by Victoria.
As the utter shock wore off he noticed that this form of salsa dancing was different than what he'd seen in American movies. There was still a lot quick footed movements and hip swaying but it looked like the emphasis was more on using up energy than promoting hormonal responses like the sexed up versions in American movies. And that seemed a bit odd to him so he made a mental note to ask Aoshi (the master salsa dancer!) later when he continued his story.
Mokuba was pulled in with Misao and Aoshi as they tried to teach the boy how to dance. Seto realized then that this form allowed for anyone to be able to jump in and didn't restrict the dance to pairs. Sano, Kenshin, Aoshi and Mokuba ended up in a line side by side matching each others movements as the girls in front of them mirrored their side-stepping, hip swaying movements. He growled in heavy annoyance as he realized that Yugi's already goofy look became even worse and he sighed dreamily every now and then.
"Can you please not do that!" Seto growled annoyed asking himself for the millionth time how this little dork could possibly be the "King of Games"! Yugi just sighed dreamily and ignored him. His brother started casting excited looks his way and he realized he was suddenly in extreme danger of being pulled in!
'Oh no! Must escape!' he inwardly hollered. He cast about looking for a way out. It didn't take long for the cheerleader and her brother to pull Yugi along with them. He did not resist…
"Um…Hiei…I think I'm going to check on the staff…" Seto beginning to get up from the couch Hiei put a hand on his shoulder.
"Better not move from this couch…If you come within a foot of the dancers you'll be pulled in…There will be no escape!" he intoned seriously. Seto blanched slightly. Hiei watched him for a second then laughed.
"Relax Seto…Aoshi won't allow them to pull you in! You haven't been properly trained yet…" he added with a smirk but Seto relaxed.
"Hiei why does Aoshi know how to do that?" he asked completely mystified.
"Sensei tricked us!" Hiei laughed. He explained that long ago when they spent their first summer in California with Sensei she had tricked them into dancing lessons because she convinced them that it was a good way to improve their martial arts training quickly.
"I can't believe you bought that!" Seto laughed and Hiei laughed too.
"Back then we were willing to believe anything she said! Besides it's like Aoshi said the dancing, the karaoke and so many other things were just Sensei's efforts to keep us human," he explained with a far away look in his eyes.
"Did it work?" Seto asked softly.
"You'll get a chance to find out for yourself," Hiei replied. Seto smiled and the two of them watched as Hiei explained Sensei was a bit old school when it came to salsa dancing and she preferred this way because according to her it was the "proper" way. As Celia's number finally came to an end and they switched to techno Aoshi finally dislodged himself from his beloved and joined Hiei and Seto. Then the three headed back to their "Broody Boy Corner".
"Hiei…I thought you were watching Aoshi's six?" Seto asked confused. Hiei sighed.
"…An impossible task today! Sensei is in full "scheming old lady" mode!" Hiei replied seriously. Aoshi frowned deeply. This didn't seem like the time for Sensei to be scheming ways to get Misao to make up her mind and stop stringing him along. But Sensei had her own agendas sometimes and it didn't matter what anyone said once she had an idea in her head there was no stopping her!
"I think she recruited Shuura and Mai too…" Hiei added solemnly. Aoshi sighed and shook his head as they took their seat.
"She's never been wrong before Hiei…" he said simply and Hiei agreed silently.
"Umm…speaking of Shuura…" Seto began uncertainly. Hiei and Aoshi turned to him with interest noting the blush that was creeping back into Seto's face. Neither had pressed Seto for details about what happened and he respected them for that but they had been honest with him so it was only right that Seto reciprocate. Besides Shuura's presence confused him and having no male adults in his life that he could trust enough to ask for advice he figured Aoshi and Hiei would do in this case.
"What about her?" Hiei asked calmly. Aoshi's face was in his trademark cold serious look.
"Seto if Shuura mistreated you in any way…"
"No! She didn't! Trust me!" Seto cut him off instantly. He wasn't sure why he wanted suddenly to protect Shuura from Aoshi's wrath when he had been so angry with her before and plotted all sorts of revenge! Well at least he thought he was angry...Seeing her again though he wasn't so sure what his fascination with the woman was all about!
"Well let me start at the beginning with the match between Marik and your cousin Mai…" Seto began.
Seto watched in impassive silence as Mai shivered in response to Marik's mind games. He shook his head in disappointment. He would've expected more gumption out of someone who was related to Aoshi Shinomori! When he was doing research on the possible participants of his Battle City Tournament he was rather shocked to find out that Mai was the youngest daughter of Hannya Shinomori's only sister. Mai had an older sister that died when Mai was ten in a car accident. The details on the accident were sketchy and he suspected there was more to it but he didn't care enough to find out.
'What a shame! I was hoping for a better showing…' he thought to himself disillusioned. Mai had a reputation for being sharp witted and ruthless and Seto respected her for it. She was one of the few duelists he would've considered at his level but to see her reduced to near tears in a pathetic emotional state caused by Marik's mind games was frustrating to say the least.
'She should learn a lesson from this defeat and stop hanging around the loser squad!' he thought harshly already planning to remove her from future invitation lists. Just then something changed in her eyes and her entire demeanor shifted.
"Who the hell do you think you are!" she yelled at him with a ferocity that surprised Seto. With a speed and grace he'd never seen in any of the mercs that called themselves his bodyguards Mai flew towards Marik. A well placed spin kick that made Marik drop the Millennium Rod was followed swiftly by strong punch to Marik's chest he stumbled backwards and his lower back hit the railing hard. Mai took a step towards him and grabbing a fist full of Marik's vest she followed that punch with another jab into his face that bloodied Marik's nose.
"Well this is an interesting development…" Seto thought amused but his respect for Mai returned with even a small measure of gratitude for her small demonstration of her family heritage. Marik's eyes widened with fear and his mouth opened to allow a tiny yelp to escape his lips as Mai's fist barreled into his face once more. He noted Marik's rod on the ground and picked it up. He watched with mild amusement as Mai's fist reared back once more preparing to show Marik her version of the shadow realm: Unconsciousness!
"Figures!" Seto grumbled annoyed. To his disappointment Marik was spared by the unlikely intervention of Katsuya! He held on tight to Mai and pulled her back and by the effort Jou seemed to put into it Mai was tougher than she looked! He advised her that Marik was not worth the trouble and for once the mutt was right. Beating Marik to a bloody pulp – while fun to watch – was completely useless.
Roland declared a time out and lowered the dueling platform and Mai returned to her end of the arena. Jou followed her there and Seto rolled his eyes in annoyance at the idiotic look of awe on Jou's face. As he and Roland studied the Millennium Rod Seto figured out a way to keep Mai from being disqualified after all he wanted to make sure he could see the Winged Dragon of Ra in play before he had to face it himself. Roland returned to the platform.
"Well! Is she disqualified?" Marik snarled angrily pushing away the Kaiba medic tending to his injured face.
"You are both disqualified," Roland answered calmly and Jou predictably yelled and screamed with outrage in Mai's defense to the point that Roland had to threaten to disqualify him too if he didn't shut up and get off the deck. Mai laughed and said something to him that made him smile and blush stupidly and once more Seto rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was pleased though to see Mai stare down Marik and Marik shrunk back nervously and averted his gaze.
Roland calmly explained to the two duelists that assaulting your opponent with anything other than your deck was strictly forbidden according to Battle City rules. It was also forbidden to use weapons in duels. The only items allowed in a duel were your deck and your duel disk. The ax-like shape of the Millennium Rod was determined to be a deadly weapon. Even though Mai was justified in her self defense she was still being sanctioned for not following proper procedure and lodging a formal complaint with a Battle City official.
"Mr. Kaiba will allow the duel to continue only on the condition that Ms. Kujacu refrains from further assaults and Mr. Ishtar's illegal item remain confiscated until the end of the tournament," he concluded gravely. Mai nodded in agreement of the terms as she readjusted her duel disk and reshuffled her deck. She smirked mischievously as Marik hesitated.
"What's the matter Marik? Can't win without your little toy?" she taunted and laughed in that obnoxious and grating manner that was uniquely Mai! Seto smirked glad that Mai was back to her old self again. Marik growled angrily and finally accepted the terms…
"Well it's nice to know Mai acquitted herself well," Hiei noted calmly. Aoshi shook his head solemnly.
"She still lost…Sensei will never let her off the hook!" Aoshi replied seriously.
At the confused look on Seto's face Aoshi explained. When Mai lost in duelist kingdom she was advised by Sensei that it was time to leave the games behind. She needed to be trained properly to take place within the Shinomori clan. She argued that it was a fluke and that she would win next time. Sensei made a bet with her that if she did not win on the next tournament she would have to let go of formal Duel Monsters competitions and train under Aoshi's supervision.
"Furthermore she will be required to pose as a model for Sensei's catalogue for at least a year because she didn't make it past the semifinals!" Aoshi elaborated. Seto shook his head allowing just a trace of pity for Mai. A whole year of being photographed in your underwear could not be fun! Then something else occurred to him.
"Oh please don't tell Katsuya! The last thing I want is his drool ruining my furniture!" Seto groaned. Jou's infatuation with Mai was so obvious even he had noticed. He told as much to Aoshi who in turn regarded him solemnly.
"Hmm, I shall look into that," he said seriously. After all Mai was his precious little cousin and he treated her like any over-protective brother would his little sister. Case in point that John Claude Magnum guy who was chasing Mai around not long ago and put her in danger just before the battle city semifinals received a very ugly welcome at his hotel suite by Aoshi and Hiei. Any and all boys coming near his little cousin were carefully scrutinized by Aoshi and company! And woe be tide if you didn't pass muster!
"To be fair though the only time I have ever seen the mutt duel well was when he was dueling for her!" Seto added unable to understand why he was suddenly sticking his neck out for yet another person he supposedly hated. Aoshi and Hiei looked surprised and Seto explained their ordeal with his supposed other brother Noah and the duels they had all engaged in to save their lives. Both duels that Jou had engaged in during the virtual reality struggle against Noah he'd dedicated to her and had won in both. Aoshi watched him calmly and exchanged a calculating look with Hiei.
"Still, it looks like I'll have to invite Mr. Katsuya for tea some time…" Aoshi said softly. Seto shrugged he'd done what he could for Katsuya the rest was up to him. However it would be interesting to see if the mutt could stand up to the close scrutiny of these men. If he did he would start re-evaluating the mutt. He decided to get on with his story.
"So anyway she dueled admirably but her deck was no match for a god card like The Winged Dragon of Ra," he continued calmly.
"My holographic technology is not really dangerous but the god cards can still give you a nasty headache! She would've been slammed if the mutt hadn't turned himself into a human shield!" Seto added once more unconsciously defending someone who he hated. He frowned as he placed another stone on the board. Hiei laughed.
"You know Aoshi… Kurama told me once that when you and Sano first met you hated him! You used to call him the idiot rooster head!" he said. Aoshi laughed.
"It's true! Mrs. Chizuru – Kurama and Kenshin's mother – used give me time outs for name calling all the time!" Aoshi elaborated for Seto's benefit. Seto frowned.
"No…they are not alike…" Seto countered seriously refusing to accept the parallels that the more logical part of his brain had already made. Hiei and Aoshi just shrugged.
"Probably not…" Hiei replied calmly but the look in the man's eyes suggested otherwise.
"Definitely not! Anyway…" Seto asserted switching back to telling his story. No, Jou was a useless, obnoxious mutt as far as Seto was concerned. Not his friend…
Marik headed toward the exit at the opposite side of the duel platform. He glared angrily at Seto but Seto merely smirked back. To Marik's surprise as they passed each other Seto returned the millennium rod.
"I wouldn't try anything against her again if I were you," Seto taunted as he stopped on his way to the duel platform.
"Is that a threat Kaiba!" Marik glared. Seto merely chuckled mockingly.
"Moron! She's the only cousin of Aoshi Shinomori!" he laughed in the mocking tone Seto was famous for. Marik's eyes went wide and fear drained all the blood from his face. Marik was well aware of Aoshi's deadly reputation. Seto continued to chuckle mockingly as he walked away from him. He was certain Marik understood what fate would befall him if he should mess with someone like Shinomori! He promised himself that one day people would tremble when they heard the name Seto Kaiba too!
"I'd love to see you try your silly little mind tricks on him!" he teased as he walked away towards his duel with Ishizu – Marik's sister! She proved to be more of a challenge than he anticipated and he didn't like her trying to play tricks with his mind. He defeated her and decided he disliked Ishizu as much as he disliked her brother. That opinion had not changed at all! Kaiba Corp. security personnel were ordered to turn them away and forbid them access to any of his properties. They could be as nasty as they wanted!
After he exchanged the usual threats with Yugi he and Mokuba adjourned. Seto sat down to spend the rest of the evening analyzing the data and preparing for the inevitable showdown against Yugi and Marik and their respective god cards: Slifer and Ra…
"Mai called and I asked Shuura to go get her. She was supposed to wait until the blimp landed though… She must've overridden me to get Mai to go snowboarding with her before the shoot," Aoshi explained solemnly at this point.
"Yes, Shuura will do anything to be out on the slopes!" Hiei agreed.
"I paused in my research when my captain called and said that there was a helicopter approaching so I went to investigate," Seto continued.
"This is the SE-17. Capt. Kamiya requesting permission to land," came a woman's voice over the radio as Seto entered the bridge followed by his little brother.
"Uh…negative SE-17! There's no room to land on Kaiba Corp. one!" went the stern reply of the pilot who now had his trigger happy boss breathing down his neck.
"What are you talking about? You've got a big ol' platform at the top!" she insisted as she laughed cheerfully. Seto moved forward and tapped the button on the mic…
"Didn't you hear what my pilot said! Back away NOW!" he yelled irritated at this mysterious woman's temerity to undermine his pilot's advice.
"Look, I just need to pick up someone and I'll be on my way," she continued unfazed by the anger and finality in Seto's tone.
"Then you will have to wait until we arrive at Kaiba Corp. Island," he growled back furiously. He was tired, he hadn't slept all night and he hadn't had his coffee. The last thing he needed was to deal with an obnoxious daredevil coming to ruin his ship and delay his tournament!
"That won't be for another four hours! I can't wait that long! She's gotta be on a plane with me bound for California in less then two!" she replied and Seto seethed at her audacity to sound annoyed! At HIM! How dare she?
"I repeat: BACK AWAY NOW!" he yelled at the end of his patience now. Mokuba fidgeted nervously behind Seto. His big brother was liable to do something very bad when he was in this kind of mood. He wished the pilot would just go away for her own sake.
"I'm coming in! Over and out!" she replied cheerfully and cut the connection. Seto was livid! His pilot frantically tried to slow the airship as much as he could to prevent a disaster! The death-wish pilot however was truly an awesome pilot though because she managed to land her little two-seater helicopter without as much as a bump! Seto stormed out of the bridge and got in to the elevator snarling all the awful things that he was going to say to this woman the instant he saw her!
Mokuba barely managed to jump in the elevator after him. Seto ignored his little brother's pleas all the while promising painful retribution. He knew that the SE in her call sign was the abbreviation for Shinomori Electronics so it was likely that she was a flunky sent out to pick up Mai. He ordered the captain to send someone down to the guest quarters to fetch Mai as the doors closed on the elevator.
"If she thinks that I will back down because of whom her employer is she is dead wrong!" Seto snarled angrily. Mokuba was sweating by now! He knew his brother would make good on his word. The elevator doors swished open with a soft hiss and Seto stalked angrily out with Mokuba close at his heel. He stood at the door of the elevator until the blades stopped spinning.
The pilot took her sweet time taking off her sunglasses and her headphones then gracefully leapt off the little helicopter. She stepped off the duel platform where she landed the helicopter. She gracefully walked over to the railing and casually leaned against it waiting for Seto. She smiled pleasantly at him as he stomped angrily towards her.
"Good Morning! My name's Shuura Kamiya!" she began cheerfully as he and Mokuba approached. Mokuba was about to reply but the thunderous look on his brother's face made him refrain.
"I don't care who the hell you are! Get this thing off my ship NOW!" he yelled at her pointing an accusing finger at her little aircraft. Shuura merely smiled back. Seto angrily pushed back strange thoughts that began to form in his head about how pretty this pilot was! And how nicely the pilot's uniform complimented her slender figure or the fact that she wore no makeup and her skin was so flawless. He blamed the out of character thoughts on his lack of caffeine and tried to ignore the way she licked her lips and applied a simple lip balm to them.
"Sure! As soon as Mai gets here!" she replied calmly snapping closed her little chap stick and putting it back in her pocket. The calmer Shuura was the more it enraged the tired and overworked Seto. He struggled to form coherent words but his rage blocked his speech. He took a step closer to the woman. Shuura frowned and extended her arm in front of her. Seto was less than an inch away from her finger tips. This woman was not at all like anyone he'd ever met! She was confident without being a ruthless hard-ass like Mai and she certainly was fearless without being forceful. In spite of himself he began to admire how she calmly stood her ground in the face of all his rage.
"I feel the need to warn you that coming within arms reach of me could be hazardous to your health!" she announced cheerfully "you would be invading my personal space!" she added with a smile.
SNAP!
The last of Seto's self-control disappeared and he took a huge step forward until he was within a half foot away from her face. She was at least three inches shorter than him. He growled in rage!
"This is MY ship! I will step wherever the hell I want and YOU will get the hell off MY ship!" he shouted. Mokuba fidgeted nervously and tried to make hand signals at the very beautiful girl who was about to die in a vain attempt to save her! She just rolled her eyes in mild annoyance and it further incensed Seto.
"You're lucky my boss told me to be nice to you!" she countered casually her hands still resting lightly on the railing at either side of her. She studied Seto calmly as he tried and failed to compose himself. He was everything she'd heard about him. He was short-tempered and psychotically over-zealous about the protection of his turf and definitely did not take no for an answer. However he was more handsome than she had thought he'd be…
'Definitely not a Poindexter-type geek!' she thought with amusement 'He needs a hug though…or something more maybe…' she noticed something in his eyes that she had seen plenty of times in other men's eyes when they looked at her. His pupils were slightly dilated and her instincts told her the color in his cheeks wasn't just rage. Because of how young and very likely inexperienced he was she doubted that even Seto understood what he was feeling. She smiled as she hatched her little plan…
Seto opened his mouth to continue his tirade but when he stepped forward his foot encountered an obstacle he had not anticipated. He stumbled forward and Shuura threw her arms around his chest and caught him as he fell forward and she quickly strategically positioned herself so his open mouth landed on her mouth. Seto's eyes flew open in surprise but before he could react her tongue suddenly invaded his mouth and teenage hormones took over all responses from there!
'Correction: this boy needs a girlfriend!' Shuura thought in amusement as Seto went from wanting to kill her to willingly being her make-out buddy! His hands suddenly gripped her hips firmly and his body became more and more heated as he leaned eagerly into her surprise embrace. To her own surprise she found herself enjoying Seto's enthusiasm and raw talent…
Mokuba watched in complete astonished silence. His older brother was full on making out with the cute pilot he wanted to kill just a second ago. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The image persisted and slowly a hopeful smile blossomed on his very young face.
'My big brother is human after all…' he thought happily. Seto finally snapped out of his hormonal episode and released Shuura taking several steps back. He had a wild and confused look in his eyes. Shuura merely smiled at him pleasantly and licked her lips.
'Jailbait! Jailbait! Jailbait! Jailbait!' her mind screamed holding back the impulse to pull him back towards her again and teach his eager yet inexperienced lips some of her favorite techniques! His intensity and strength surprised her! It wasn't something she thought she would encounter in someone so young!
The elevator hissed opened just then and he stomped away furiously without saying a word. After a stunned moment Mokuba quickly approached the girl smiled and shook her hand putting a business card with his private phone number on it in her hand. He had never given one out! Seto made them for him but Mokuba never used them. He was sure glad he had one today! He quickly introduced himself then quietly chased after his brother.
"It was very nice meeting you Mr. Kaiba!" Shuura called out. Seto ignored her as he stomped towards the elevator. Mai and the rest of the loser gang exited the elevator and their cheerful conversation came to a screeching halt as they came face to face with a livid Seto Kaiba.
"If you ever do something like this again I will see to it that you never duel again!" he growled angrily at Mai glaring fiercely at her. Mai blinked in surprise but Seto pushed past her and stormed into the elevator before any of them could react. Mokuba followed and as the elevator doors closed he noted that his big brother was licking his lips too.
"Seto…" he began tentatively worried about how this odd confrontation was going to affect his brother.
"Bubble gum…tasted like bubble gum…" he said suddenly. Mokuba looked at him very perplexed.
"Her chap stick…" he explained seriously. Mokuba smiled then opened his mouth to say something but Seto cut him off.
"Not a word Mokuba! Not a single word to anyone! Especially the twerps!" he growled. Mokuba mimicked a zipping, locking and throwing away the key sign but didn't stop smiling.
"I hate bubblegum!" Seto growled and stormed back onto the bridge. With considerable effort Mokuba affect his most serious look however inside his heart leapt!
'You may hate the Chap Stick but you sure liked her lips!' Mokuba thought cheerfully as his brother threatened everyone with termination if this incident ever got out…
Aoshi and Hiei stared at Seto dumbfounded. Seto did not look up from the Go board and Aoshi could see the color rising in his cheeks again.
"I don't understand what happened…I'm not clumsy…I don't…" Seto hesitated. "I don't kiss random people especially the ones that make me so angry!" he raged.
"That pirate! She tripped you…She planned it all!" Hiei managed astounded. Seto looked up confused. So Aoshi explained.
"Shuura's nature…She seems harmless as she approaches you until she waves her Jolly Roger and attacks!" he began "she'll be gone with her loot before you even get a chance to react!"
"Pirate!" Hiei repeated with a stern look on his face. It worried Seto a little. Again his mouth almost opened in her defense but he stopped when Aoshi chuckled.
"Shuura has terrorized every one of her friends for years! She will often sneak up on you and steal something then use it in a way that makes you not want it back!" Aoshi explained reciting an incident with Sano's uniform where Shuura had customized it and then worn it. Sano never wanted it back!
"But I think in this case she left more than as she took…" Aoshi concluded pensively. At Seto's confused look he explained:
"Shuura always brags about her trophies…However she didn't say a word about this incident to anyone…Not even Sensei!"
"We always tell Sensei everything… sometimes whether she wants to hear it or not!" Hiei added suddenly comprehending.
"The pirate Shuura will finally hang from the gallows!" Hiei declared sounding almost cheerful. For a moment Seto was able to glimpse the prankster that Aoshi once was in the maniacal glee of his reciprocal smile. However for some reason that he could not explain he could not bring himself to share in their joy and it frustrated him!
"See this is what frustrates me! I plotted for weeks how to get back at her! And here it is the perfect opportunity for me to retaliate and the first thing I did was defend her!" he growled angrily. Hiei and Aoshi's glee disappeared in the face of Seto's anger and confusion.
"Shuura is exciting and charming. She's also fearless and decisive. A woman very much in control of her destiny… She treated you in a way you hadn't been treated before…" Aoshi began seriously.
"She saw the man within you that wants recognition from people like her but she caught you by surprise…" Hiei added thoughtfully.
"You're like us in that you always want to be in control. Shuura took that control away from you and that's what makes you angry!" Aoshi continued gravely.
"On the other hand she acknowledged you as a man and as her equal. That was flattering and perhaps you feel some measure of gratitude towards her for the gesture…hence the confusion." Hiei concluded solemnly. Seto thought about it and found him self agreeing with them. He was grateful that they hadn't said something stupid like he was in love or something ridiculous like that! Their reasoning was sound and very logical. He liked logical!
Yes he liked to be in control of everything around him so it made him angry to lose that and yes it was flattering that this beautiful woman had not treated him in the condescending way most older women did and he was a little grateful for the "lesson"! He was glad that he decided to confide in these two men. They understood how his mind worked and they treated him like an equal. It was what he wanted more than anything: To be among the best…To be among the strongest!
"So then why are you two so happy? Why is the fact that she didn't say anything to Victoria so important?" Seto countered his embarrassment and confusion was gone now that he understood why he felt the way he did. Perhaps he even go so far as ripping the confidentiality agreements he'd forced on his crew and let Mokuba tell Mai what happened. Aoshi smirked slightly then.
"…Because you surprised her too!" Aoshi replied that slight maniacal glee back in his eyes. Hiei chuckled…
"See you must've been more than she expected!" Hiei surmised gleefully. Seto sat up surprised.
"Knowing Shuura she probably expected you to turn to mush and embarrass yourself by doing something stupid like ask her to marry you or something ridiculous like that! Something any ordinary teenager would do," Aoshi continued smirking at the horrified look on Seto's face.
"Oh I think not!" he declared seriously completely horrified at the thought of him making a fool of himself in such a way. That would never have happened in a million years! He was no ordinary teenager!
"Precisely! You met her assault and held your ground!" Aoshi agreed.
"The Pirate was repelled! Most likely she's looking for a rematch! That's why she was goading you earlier," Hiei explained. Again Hiei surprised Seto. That the victory had been his was not something he expected to learn.
"We will have to tell Sensei…" Aoshi began uncertainly. Seto nodded.
"Yes but I want to be there…" Seto replied as he watched Aoshi place his next stone on the board. Hiei and Aoshi smirked and nodded.
"Oh yes…the pirate shall hang!" Hiei smirked both obviously relishing the thought of Shuura finally getting a little comeuppance!
Thanks for reading and reviewing!