Anzu woke up earlier than usual that following day. Maybe it was because she didn't sleep well the night before, or perhaps she was just that eager to get of there; either way, she was up before the sun was.
She stretched her back and greeted the dim morning with a yawn. She carefully made her way to her feet so as to not bump her head against any of the low beams above her head, folding the futon to keep the nearly vacant space as neat as possible.
Using the flashlight from her phone, she pulled out her school uniform and flattened as many of the wrinkles out that she could before changing. She picked out her hair brush, face wash, face towel, toothbrush, and toothpaste from her suitcase as well so she could get ready with ease.
As silently as she could, she let the stairway to the attic down and noiselessly descended into the hallway with her luggage. She lifted the stairway back up with a soft thud, making sure to not disturb her cousins and aunt.
She found her way to the bathroom with relative ease and quickly washed up for the day; though she would have preferred to pamper herself a bit with the extra time she had, but runaways couldn't be choosy, right? Quickly drying her face and putting her toiletries back into her suitcase, she descended the stairs to the living room and was surprised to see the kitchen light on. Did someone leave the light on? In a moment of benevolence she decided to turn off the light but not before cautiously carrying her luggage over to the front door and changing into her street shoes in case she needed to make a quick getaway. Just in case, she thought to herself.
She carefully approached the kitchen and was somewhat surprised to see that she wasn't the first one before the break of dawn.
Her Aunt Rei was slumped over the dining table in the kitchen as exhaustion heaved at her shoulders.
Anzu groaned inwardly. She was hoping to have just left a note saying "Sayonara" and high tail it out of there unseen, but due to the high standard of ethics her parents drilled into her she now felt obligated to do it in person.
Still, this was a bit too early in the morning for a verbal spat. Even Kaiba waited for the sun to come out before biting into his employees.
Guess Aunt Rei has you beat in that area Kaiba, she thought with an odd sense of irony. She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and entered the kitchen.
"Good morning," she greeted quietly, aiming to match the stillness of the morning.
Her attempt was matched with failure once Rei's exhausted gaze settled on her. Her eyes bulged immediately and she shot out of her chair as it went clattering cacophonously to the tile, making Anzu wince. Apparently her aunt had been drinking tea as she noticed a slightly opaque liquid pool across the table and drip to the floor.
"A-are you all right?" She asked tentatively. Her aunt had a wild look in her eyes that made her uncomfortable but also concerned. The dark circles, heavy bags, and pale skin were clear signs that this woman was very stressed. Did she even sleep last night?
She watched as her aunt's eyes focused in on her more intently before recognition and irritation settled on her features. Anzu was actually quite relieved to see it. "Oh, it's you. What do you want so early in the morning?" Aunt Rei's voice was heavy and rough with exhaustion, further evidence that she didn't sleep last night.
Anzu sighed, "I wanted to look at the transit schedules so I won't be late for school." This was a partial fib, of course. She did need to get to the train station so she didn't miss her ride into Domino, but leaving this place behind for good was her main motive - though she couldn't drop that bomb on her aunt right from the get go.
She heard her aunt grunt brusquely at her and waved her away. "Fine; at least you have some sense of preparation. It seems I won't have to hound you to get ready unlike my useless sons."
Anzu wanted to roll her eyes but refused the temptation. She actually began to feel a little sorry for her sex-obsessed cousins. While it was clear that they didn't like her almost as much as her aunt despised her, they did assault her in defense of their mother just yesterday. It seemed to Anzu that most of the discontent in the house was caused by the strained woman before her, not the twins currently passed out in their beds.
"Since you're up so early get something to eat at the station. I won't cook for you at this hour and I don't want you dirtying up my kitchen." She bit out.
Already Anzu could feel the irritation scratching at the surface of her skin with this woman. Bitterness and contempt was all she felt from her so-called aunt and it has been less than twenty-four hours since she stepped over the threshold.
So, she squared her shoulders and looked her aunt directly in the eye, agitation evident in her own face. "I also wanted to say thank you for opening up your home to me, but I feel that I've been too much of a burden since I came here. I will return to Domino and go to the local orphanage until I'm of age." She bowed her to her aunt. "Thank you for your hospitality. I wish you and your family the best." She didn't even wait for her aunt to respond before quickly walking out of the kitchen, opening the front door, and pushing her luggage through before closing it and hurrying down the sidewalk to the bus stop.
She didn't look back and she really didn't want to acknowledge hearing her aunt's demands for her to return. She didn't want to get into any arguments and had no intention of ever returning to that house or setting eyes on her mother's sister again. She wasn't even there for a day and already she had been verbally abused and sexually assaulted. She could deal with verbal abuse, even physical thanks to her training, but not sexual. Not since….
She shook her head and picked up the pace; her duffle bag now swinging from side to side on her arm and her suitcase wobbling behind her, trying to stay upright on its wheels.
She found herself at the bus stop several minutes later, well winded after sprinting with her luggage as fast as she could. Catching her breath, she looked at the map system and saw that luck was on her side - this bus would take her directly to the train station and was scheduled to be arriving soon. She just hoped that it wouldn't be delayed at all; she really didn't want to risk her aunt catching up with her; if she followed her at all. She just wanted to get out of there and avoid the conflict all together.
She sat down at the bench that was available and looked at her luggage. Thank goodness I only packed a few clothes. If I had brought all of my clothes with me I never would have been able to bring everything with me. It was a superficial thought, but she didn't really care. She remembered leaving most of her clothes at her house because she knew she would be returning. After all, the house itself was paid off completely and it was now rightfully her's. Granted her parents' lawyers had not distributed their assets yet, but ever since she was brought into the Organization her parents immediately had their own will's drawn up listing her as the beneficiary to their home, just in case something happened to them. Like being called into HQ, for example.
Anzu sighed as she leaned forward over her legs, huddling closer to herself as the heat from her adrenaline began cooling. Dawn was coming up now and the coolness from the morning began to settle into her body. She had forgotten to pull her jacket out, but figured she would do that on the bus itself. She didn't want to take the chance of delaying her departure.
She rubbed her arms together and kept looking in the direction the bus would be coming from. It was quiet, almost peaceful, but also a little eerie since she was all by herself.
She was also growing bored.
Time was ticking by slowly as she waited for the bus. She checked her watch constantly, which only seemed to make the time go by even slower. She huffed impatiently. What was she to do? It wasn't like she could pull out a book or her phone or-
She snapped her fingers and nearly facepalmed. She had been so preoccupied with her own situation that she hadn't had thought of checking on Kaiba and Mokuba.
She scowled a bit, thinking of the pain Mokuba was going through and the near sightedness of his brother. She already wanted to smack him for his arrogance (which has already proven to be a bad idea) and now he was making things worse for his younger brother by obsessing over his company.
She took a deep breath and sighed, noticing the agitation rising in her again. It wasn't worth getting all worked up over it at that moment. Her job was to observe them and protect them from harm, not get wrapped up in their family drama; no matter how much she wanted to for Mokuba's sake. He was important to her and they had a very special friendship since she has constantly been doing her best to watch out for him, assignment or no assignment.
She considered herself to be Mokuba's friend first and foremost and always would. She will be there for him when he needed her; but for now, the only thing she could do was check up on him.
She reached into her duffle bag to pull out her Wooden Horse sunglasses when she heard the brakes and squeal of the bus. She quickly grabbed the glasses (and incidentally her wallet), hooking them on to the collar of her blouse and shuffled her luggage in through the door. She pulled out a few bills for the fare and quickly sat down so the bus could leave on time. As she situated herself in the empty vehicle, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her aunt had not come after her. The bus came up to speed as she put her glasses on, ready to see how the youngest Kaiba was doing since her last check-in with him.
Sunlight peeked through the large windows of the Kaiba mansion. The employees of the mansion moved quickly yet softly in the early morning rays to clean the rooms and prepare breakfast for the residents before they emerged from their rooms.
As usual, the master of the house emerged first, fully prepared for school and his day at the office. He descended the stairs to the dining area in a quiet manner, moving passed his younger brother's bedroom door.
Inside said bedroom, the youngest of the two Kaiba's was blissfully cuddling his pillow, dreaming of holding hands with a beautiful, intelligent blonde with as much passion for adventure as himself. A silly smile stretched on his face as he murmured her name in his sleep.
A soft knock interrupted the dreams of the sleeping boy and he clutched his pillow tighter in defiance of waking. The knock came again, louder than before, until finally he yielded.
Mokuba grumbled as he opened his eyes lazily. He stretched and sat up with a yawn just as the knock came again. "Yes, I'm up." He called tiredly. "You can come in." He smiled when he saw Isono enter the room with a bow. "Good morning, Isono." He said brightly.
"Good morning Master Mokuba. I do hope you slept well," greeted the man kindly.
Mokuba sighed, "It was a little difficult getting to sleep, but I did have a good dream." He smiled at this admission as he recalled the pleasant dream he enjoyed before waking.
Isono smiled to himself. "I'm glad to hear of it," he responded. He straightened as he continued, "Breakfast will be ready momentarily. Your brother has asked to see you."
Mokuba frowned instantly at that. Normally he'd be rushing out the door to see his brother, especially so early in the morning, but their relationship had been greatly strained this past month and he really wasn't at all looking forward to seeing him right then.
He sighed, "I'll be down in a moment," his voice was heavy with dread and discomfort. He watched Isono bow and leave the room before throwing himself face first into his bed. He hated how his relationship with his brother had become. He didn't like not looking forward to seeing him; his brother was his everything! At least, he used to be, but now….
Mokuba shook his head. I'm just being dramatic, he thought to himself. Everything will be fine. Things are tough now, but they'll get better. They always do, right? Mokuba sighed to himself. He thought all these things, but it was still difficult to be optimistic. He loved his brother, but things were crazy at KaibaCorp right now and it made school far more difficult. He winced at some of the memories of being confronted by kids of former employees at the company and couldn't help but feel bad for them. He didn't fault them for targeting him. In fact, he kind of wanted them to. It was weird, but he wanted them to be angry at his brother, too. He wanted his brother to realize that he couldn't treat people as objects; that they needed to be respected and appreciated for their hard work and efforts. Firing valuable employees just because he was frustrated at the moment was not ethical, nor was it professional.
Still, he didn't exactly look forward to the beatings. He just wanted his brother to understand the effects and consequences his actions have outside of the company. And Mokuba wasn't dumb. He knew that the best way to get his brother's attention was to put himself in harm's way. Plenty of experience from his adventures in past years showed him that. So, he let it happen. Not that anybody really knew this of course. Well, no one except Anzu. Granted he didn't tell her that he was letting these bullies get him, but it was nice to open up to someone who had been there for him before.
He smiled a bit to himself. He considered himself lucky that Anzu reached out to him this past weekend. He hadn't seen her for a very long time and then she happened to be in the park riding her bike and stopped for a quick hello. He didn't really have friends at middle school anymore, other than Rebecca, so it was nice to be able to chat with someone who he had been through so much with.
He thought of Anzu and Rebecca and foolishly buried his head into his pillows with a blush; the two friends he really felt cared about him just had to be beautiful girls! The embarrassment rolled off his red cheeks and sent tingles down his spine. He didn't know whether to consider himself the luckiest guy in the world or not.
He laughed to himself with how silly he was being before realizing that he had to get up and get ready to meet his brother for breakfast. He jumped out of bed quickly, a renewed vigor in his steps after thinking about his friends, and rushed through his bathroom routine and getting dressed. He was out his bedroom door a minute or two later and hurried down the stairs. The tantalizing smell of waffles, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fresh fruit drifted through the air as soon as he reached the last step and he blissfully headed in the direction of the dining hall.
As soon as he crossed into the room he saw his brother sipping at his coffee with his tablet in front of him. He glanced at the screen and rolled his eyes when he saw his brother reviewing his company's stock report. He held back a sigh and walked to his usual seat next to his brother, grabbing a plate and piling food on it from the buffet before him.
He sat his plate down and situated himself in his seat before starting on his food, mumbling a quiet, "Good morning," to his brother.
He heard his brother sigh and respond with, "Good morning," as he closed his laptop and set it aside to look at him. "I will not beat around the bush Mokuba, I know that you are being bullied at school."
Mokuba winced involuntarily and froze, setting his fork down. Crap….
"Why did you not inform me?" He questioned and Mokuba could feel his gaze burning into him.
He fidgeted a bit, feeling much like the 10-year-old he used to be at that moment, and averted his gaze sheepishly. "Because…." was the best response his reluctant mouth would utter.
Several awkward moments of uncomfortable silence passed between the two of them before Seto sighed. "Look Mokuba, I know I have not been the easiest person to speak to and I apologize for that."
Mokuba looked at his brother with mild confusion and a hint of sarcasm. He knew his brother rarely apologized, even to him, but unlike with other people, he was willing to put his walls down when it was just the two of them so he was sure to listen to what he had to say.
"I can also understand that you may blame me for the bullying happening to you." Mokuba swerved his head in surprise. That he wasn't expecting. He saw his brother smirk, "Yes, I know that they are children of the employees I fired. Isono told me."
Mokuba's cheeks buzzed with heat. Even Isono knew? Then again, it wasn't exactly like he was hiding it from Isono; but he felt more vulnerable knowing that more than just the person he told knew about his predicament. It almost felt like a violation of privacy, something that he was that he was growing ever more fond of as he aged.
"Are you… mad?" he dared ask.
Seto again took several moments to contemplate his answer before responding, "Yes. I am upset with you. I would have preferred to learn about this directly from you rather than Isono." Mokuba hung his head with slight shame, bracing himself for his brother's wrath. "However, I also realize that this is a situation outside of your control and I cannot fault you for doing your best to deal with the situation in your own way. In that regard, I am proud of you, but you should not have to suffer this sort of torment by your peers."
More confusion spread through Mokuba as he listened to his brother. Where was all of this going?
"I have been giving the situation some serious thought and I feel it would be best for you to be tutored privately here at home instead of going to school on daily basis." Mokuba, though not entirely surprised by this decision, was shocked that his brother came to that solution without talking about it with him. He knew how he loved going to school and that sentiment hadn't changed at all, despite the bullying. He loved being around other kids his age, it made him feel less lonely. He also didn't want to miss out on seeing a certain bouncing blonde beauty everyday.
He felt dissatisfaction sinking into his bones and he frowned deeply. This is not what he wanted at all.
He turned away from his brother with a haughty expression and frowned down at his food. "Sorry, that's not going to happen," he retorted, resuming his meal.
Seto frowned. "I am afraid that is, Mokuba. I will not stand idly by while my brother is targeted by his classmates. I called the school already and told them that starting tomorrow you will no longer be attending classes-"
Mokuba shot up out of his chair, spilling his food over the table. "You WHAT?!" His face was contorted in anger. "You did this without talking to me about it first?" He demanded.
Seto scowled at his brother. "Do not take that tone of voice with me, Mokuba. This is for your own good."
"No it's not!" He cried. "You're only doing this because you caused the problem in the first place and didn't even bother trying to apologize for it!"
Seto took a deep breath, quite clearly refusing to lose his temper at his upset younger brother. "I had a feeling you would be opposed to it-"
"No kidding!" interjected Mokuba.
"-which is why I wanted to give you a few reasons to consider it before you leave today." He continued, not bothering to scold his brother for interrupting him. "Now, first off, I called all of the employees I fired these past two weeks and rehired the ones that were willing to return."
That got Mokuba's attention, although he was still upset. "What? Personally?"
"Yes, personally." Seto confirmed. "So now when you go to school today you should not have worry too much about getting hurt. That being said, I want you to seriously consider studying from home for at least the remainder of the school year. Your grades are down and your professors have been contacting me regarding your conduct at school. The bullying aside, I hear you have been skipping classes and not participating in group activities. This is seriously affecting your performance in class and you have also been refusing to hand in assignments given to you.
"I know you are more than capable of completing your assignments and getting perfect scores. It cannot be only the bullying causing the problem as this has been an issue for much longer than two weeks. Be honest with me, is school beginning to bore you?"
Mokuba contemplated his answer, wondering if he should be brave and tell his brother his true reasons for rebelling at school. True, the bullying was a recent event, not nearly long enough to be the cause of his delinquency. He was stubborn, though, and didn't want to admit to his brother that he was acting to simply get his attention on him but school most certainly wasn't a bore. That answer would be the fastest route out of school and into the hands of a strict, wrinkly-faced tutor in a dark room.
He sat back down with a sigh in resignation. He put his head in his hands and breathed, doing his best to calm his raging emotions and came to a conclusion, It's now or never. He steeled himself as best he could before speaking. "I… I'm lonely…." There, he said it.
Seto remained silent, waiting for his brother to continue. "There's nothing much else to it, older brother. I'm really lonely. I don't have many friends I can hang out with, and the only my age I do spend time with is often travelling with her grandfather. You're always working or at school and by the time you are home I've already eaten dinner and in my room." He put his feet on the chair, not caring about propriety, and hugged his knees into his chest protectively. "I never want to bother you while you're working, but you're the only other person I see on a daily basis. I miss you a lot; I know you have to focus on the company and I won't ever stop you from that, but I really only have two friends and I hardly ever get to see them in general." He clenched his fists, feeling pathetic. He felt he should be stronger than this, but he couldn't lie about the gaping hole that was growing inside him anymore. "I just… don't want to be alone. School makes me feel that I'm not."
He spared a brief glance in his brother's direction once he finished his confession. Unsurprisingly, his brother was taking into consideration everything he had said and was processing it with the efficiency of a businessman and the responsibility of a caretaker.
After several long moments, Seto sighed and responded. "All right, how about a compromise? You can continue to go to school," Mokuba's eyes lit up hopefully, "however a tutor is necessary at this point. Your scores are far too low and as much as I would prefer to instruct you myself, I do not have that luxury. An obstacle has risen regarding the stock ownership in the company and I have to investigate it with Isono's help."
Mokuba's curiosity was immediately piqued. "What's happening with the stocks?"
Seto smirked a little bit, "Just a little mouse trying to bite off far too much more than it can chew." He waved it off. "When you have a moment I will show you, but for now, we are focusing on you, not the company."
Mokuba couldn't help but smile inwardly at that. He always knew he was more important to his brother than the company was, but he hadn't been feeling that as of late. It was good to be reminded that he was his brother's first priority and the company was his second.
"Now, I will be calling local independent educators to line up interviews for your tutor. Do you have any preferences in the type of tutor?"
Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "Preferences? What do they have some kind of build-your-own-tutor catalogue or something?"
He saw Seto's mouth curl up in amusement, raising his forgotten coffee mug to his lips. "That would be far more convenient, but unfortunately they have yet to invent such a commodity." He sipped at his mug before placing it down and pulling out his phone. "I might have to consider that as the company's next project." He noted down the idea as Mokuba rolled his eyes.
"I don't really have any preferences, I guess." He shrugged. "Just as long as she's nice and isn't too old."
Seto cocked an eyebrow at his brother. "So a woman?"
Mokuba shrugged again, "I guess. A man would be fine, too, but when it comes to tutors it's really easy to picture a girl. I guess I would just be more comfortable with a girl tutor than a boy tutor."
Seto nodded and made the note on his phone. "The note has been made. I will be sure to keep your young, female preference in mind."
Mokuba blushed at the way his brother stated that as immediately both faces of the girls he had been thinking about this morning popped into his head. He cleared his throat to shake away the embarrassment but then had an idea.
"Big brother, would it be all right if Anzu Mazaki was my tutor?"
Seto, who had been taking another sip of his coffee, choked on his beverage ungracefully, making Mokuba jump. "What?! Absolutely not! I will not have that cretin stepping foot in this house, is that clear?!" He belted, making Mokuba cringe and raising his hands in defence.
"Okay!" Whoa, what a reaction! Thought Mokuba. Did something happen between those two? He watched as his brother's face settled into an extremely unpleasant grimace with fisted hands on the table. He was really angry and had no idea why. "Is… everything okay, big brother?"
Seto turned his glare on to his brother before looking forward again with a flat, "Everything is fine." He returned to drinking his coffee, finishing what was left and then standing from his seat. "We need to get going now. I will ride with Isono to drop you off at school and begin looking to some professional agencies. I will also inform your principal that you will continue to attend classes." He straightened his tie and thrust one hand into his pocket. "I will be waiting for you so finish your breakfast." He walked away after that.
Mokuba watched his brother's retreating form before turning back to his messy plate and finishing his now cold meal. Big brother sure reacted very strangely when I mentioned Anzu. I mean, I know that he doesn't consider her a friend, but we've been through so much together and she is really nice. Then again, I haven't seen her in a long time besides the park on Saturday. Maybe something happened at school? Mokuba shrugged and finished up his meal quickly.
He grabbed his bag and headed out the large french doors to the waiting limo with Isono standing beside the open door. He threw Isono a grateful smile, one that went beyond the open door and made himself comfortable in the back seat as the door closed.
He looked over to his brother, who was engrossed in his laptop screen and rolled his eyes as the limo started up and they were headed off in the direction of his school. Big brother certainly wastes no time. He thought to himself. He smiled though, he was grateful that he was able to honest with his brother and he could very easily agree to the compromise of having a tutor while still attending school. If he were being completely honest with himself though, school wasn't challenging him enough and perhaps a tutor was just what he needed to rectify that. Although….
"Big brother?" started Mokuba. Seto glanced at him to let him know he was listening. "What made you decide on hiring me a tutor? I know we've talked about it before, but we never agreed on it because we decided it was best for me to socialize with my peers." As an afterthought, he added, "It was also one of the reasons why you're continuing to go to school."
Seto redirected his focus from his screen to his brother. "In truth, it has been something I have been thinking about for awhile, but what lead me to my decision yesterday was when I was at the office and saw a small batch of brochures on the receptionists' desk. While I would not consider those particular agencies for your tutelage, I realized that not only the extra work but having one-on-one instruction would serve you better than the rest. A personalized educational plan is always more effective than one for the masses." He exchanged a look with Mokuba before returning to his screen.
Mokuba was even more curious now. "There were brochures for an educational agency on the receptionist's desk at KaibaCorp? Why?"
Seto continued with his laptop as he correct, "Agencies. There was more than one. I can only assume that the receptionist probably brought them in for review regarding her own education and accidentally left them behind on her desk. I promptly threw the brochures away because she knows that advertisement material of any kind other than KaibaCorp is prohibited. Speaking of, I need to have her written up for that."
Mokuba sighed in exasperation. "Really?"
Seto ignored his brother as he pulled out his phone to call his secretary.
Mokuba rolled his eyes and decided to focus on the road ahead of them. They were almost to his school. He thought it was strange that the receptionist would bring material and just leave it like that for his brother to see so easily. He knew that the employees had the sense to not leave anything behind at the office that wasn't KaibaCorp related, but he supposed that even experienced employees make mistakes if they're in a hurry.
He shrugged it off in the end. Accidents happen.