Clever boy that Mokuba. Very clever.
The week started off fairly well with Anzu and Seto desperately avoiding each other like the plague. The fight that had ensued between them when they established their thirty-day agreement proved the point that they would never get along and thus maintained an average distance of fifty meters, at least.
Their cold war not only prevented them from completing their chemistry assignment, but also created a bitter atmosphere which made for a very uncomfortable situation for the three of them. Poor Mokuba found himself caught in the middle of the polar ice caps. Every time he tried to get one or the other to speak to each other, insults and snarky remarks were thrown between them. He felt guilty trying to simply speak with either one of them and felt that if there was going to be any peace in the mansion he would have to be the one to take the initiative.
Thus, he decided that desperate times called for desperate measures; when his brother was in the dining room drinking his coffee that Saturday morning he asked Anzu to meet him in the dining room. When she noticed that it was the elder brother in the room and not the younger, she immediately turned to leave only to find that the doorway was blocked. Mokuba had daringly barricaded the door with one of the living room armoire displays.
"What the hell? Mokuba!" cried a desperate Anzu when she realized that she was trapped alone in the dining room with the bane of her existence. "Let me out of here, right now!" She demanded.
"Do not speak to my brother like that, Mazaki," chided Seto. "Mokuba, I demand that you let us out of here immediately!" The disdainful look Anzu threw at him for his hypocrisy was enough to make any lesser man hide in the pantry.
"Not until you two can agree to make nice!" came the determined voice of the young boy.
"What are you talking about?" asked an exasperated Seto.
Anzu was sure she could hear the eye-rolling from the other side of the armoire. "What do you think I'm talking about, big brother?" The snarky comeback took her by surprise while Seto grimaced in displeasure. "The two of you have been engaged in this battle of stubborn wills since before Anzu moved in with us and has only gotten worse! At least before she was here you two were talking, but now everything is uncomfortable and awkward! I won't let either of you out until you agree you can tolerate each other's presence without arguing, refusing to speak to each other, or putting me in the middle!"
Anzu sighed, "Mokuba, when have we ever put you in the middle of this?"
"Every blasted day this week!" He cried in frustration. "Do you know how hard it is wanting to spend time with the both of you when neither of you will even so much as glance at each other!"
"Why would you ever want to spend time with the likes of an idiot like her, Mokuba?" He hissed out the pronoun as if it were poison in his mouth. Anzu glared hotly at him; she wasn't the gum beneath his shoe and didn't deserve to be spoken of so hatefully.
"Oh, I don't know, Seto. Maybe because, unlike you, I actually like her?" He spat back. Anzu felt warmth grow in her chest although she grimaced a bit at the tone he took.
The agitation Seto felt began to sink further into his words. "Do not speak to me that way, Mokuba." He was normally very kind with his brother (at least by his standards), but disrespect was not something he would tolerate.
"Then don't talk about her as if she were some sort of snake!" cried Mokuba, who clearly felt very brave from the opposite side of that armoire.
Anzu shook her head in resignation. "Mokuba, as much as I appreciate you sticking up for me -which I greatly do- you still shouldn't speak to your brother in that tone." Seto glanced over at her suspiciously but she ignored him. "Yes, your brother is a huge jerk, as I've expressed on multiple occasions," she smiled slightly when she caught the scowl on his face, "but he's still your brother. You shouldn't side against him for the sake of an... outsider..."
Silence persisted among the three of them, all of them a little surprised at what she said. Finally, Mokuba said, "I'm not taking sides for anyone. The point is, you two have made it very difficult to live here and I can't take it anymore. It's only been a week. I don't want this uncomfortable atmosphere persisting between the only two people I care very deeply about!" His voice trembled a bit as he asked, "Can't you see that it hurts?"
Anzu felt the slight weight of guilt fall upon her shoulders while Seto made no hints at the discomfort he felt from his own.
"Look, all I want is for you two to work out your differences, even just a little bit. Work on that assignment you told me that you were given and see if you actually can learn anything about each other. Maybe you two will find some common ground and… I don't know… go from there?" The sound of a resigned sigh and receding footsteps signaled that he had left them to their own devices.
Seto and Anzu stood there silently for a moment before exchanging respective glances. The instantaneous dread that crept into their stomachs made it very clear to them that they wouldn't be leaving any time soon.
Anzu sighed inwardly as she stared up at the clock in the dining room from her seat at the island. So far, an hour had gone by with neither one taking the first step to getting them out of there and she was starting to get antsy. Of course, she was the only bored one; Mr. Killjoy kept his laptop on him as if it were an extra appendage so he passed the time situated at the opposite end without so much a glance at her.
The quiet droned on longer than she would have liked and she began fidgeting around trying to find something to do, but as to be expected in the Kaiba mansion the dining room was absolutely pristine. Unconsciously she began to drum her nails against the tabletop to break the silence, which instantly irked her stoic companion.
"Stop that," he demanded curtly.
She shot him a glare. "Stop what?"
He returned her glare, "Are you so dense that you don't even have control over your own body?"
"And are you so inept that you can't even ask politely?" She retorted.
"I don't need to ask for things in my own home." He responded coldly. "Then again I suppose I shouldn't expect someone who has no home to understand that."
Anzu felt her heart twist painfully in her chest as tears immediately stung her eyes and even Seto grimaced at what he blurted out. He would have hurt her less if he had slapped her across her face. "Geez, Kaiba, are you always such a charmer with the ladies or am I just special?" She mumbled, turning away from him.
He sighed and closed his laptop and considered for the first time that maybe this icy atmosphere really was getting out of hand. "Look-"
"Leave me alone." She spat out at him. "You clearly see my presence in your home as a blight on your existence so just continue to act like I'm not here, okay?" She cleared her throat and turned further away from him, fighting the recent memories of loss and rejection.
"Listen!" He shouted. Must she interrupt me at every turn? He sighed, running a hand through his hair in mild frustration as he sat back in his seat. "I will admit that comment was… out of line." He averted his eyes from her when he saw that she was staring at him through a veil of tears. "You know I do not apologize, Mazaki; but I do know when I'm...wrong."
"I bet you think that doesn't happen to you very often." She grumbled out.
Seto's face soured. "Not think, Mazaki. It simply doesn't."
"Right," She rolled her eyes. "That explains a lot, not that it was much of a mystery in the first place." She crossed her arms in front of her.
Seto growled in frustration, "Whatever, Mazaki. Consider this the last time I ever try to be nice to the likes of you."
"Well, considering your last attempt at an apology I'd have to say that this is actually quite the improvement." She felt her tears begin to subside, but wiped them away just to be sure.
"I didn't say I was apologizing, Mazaki I was admitting that I was wrong." He crossed his arms over his chest, scowling at irately.
She rolled her eyes. "Nuance." She shook her head. "You're really not used to socializing with anyone, huh?"
"Are you as blind as you are dense?"
"It was a rhetorical question. Surely you know what those are, don't you Mr. Antisocial?" The comment caught him off guard and she felt herself smirk at her own petty achievement. "What? Surely sarcasm is not a foreign language to you, is it?"
"Of course not. However, my presence demands far more respect than things like sarcasm." He said flatly.
"Of course, Kaiba boy!" The glare she received at the end of her pointed reminder was worth it for the ironic hilarity. The inward laugh made her feel much better.
"How comforting to know that I am regarded with such dignity." He grumbled out before turning back to his laptop, feeling that it was an appropriate time to return to his project. He said his piece and she was proving to be too difficult to be worth any expendable energy.
"Oh no," said Anzu, daring to get up and blocking his laptop screen with her hand. He glared up at her and was about to demand she move when she pleaded with him, "Just hear me out." When his gaze didn't move from her she continued. "Look, we're clearly stuck in here until your brother comes back and he's satisfied with some sort of progress between us. So, let's just take this time now to knock out that stupid assignment that Higurashi gave us and be done with it sooner than later." He folded his hands and placed his elbows on the table, contemplating her proposition. "After we're done we can go back to avoiding each other and I'll talk to an attorney to see if I can sell my parents' house and find my own place." This addendum caught him by surprise but the expression never reached his face. He took a few more moments to consider this offer before agreeing with a slight nod.
"Good," Anzu breathed a sigh of relief. Now it was just a matter of completing that ridiculous assignment. Speaking of which, "Do you by any chance have the assignment on you?"
Seto cocked an eyebrow at her. "I thought you were making the proposition because you had it readily available."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I carry random loose leaf papers around in my hands as a hobby."
It was his turn to roll his eyes. "I should not have expected anything more from Yuugi's cheerleader."
She scowled at him defiantly. "You keep saying that as if it were a bad thing. What's so wrong about me supporting my friends?"
"I never said it was bad." He clarified. "I find it pesky and annoying, qualities which incite frustration, but not in itself bad."
Anzu gave him a bemused look. "Pesky and annoying? Not a fan of receiving support from others, Kaiba?" He shrugged in silent response. "Oh, I see! Too stubborn and prideful to accept the support of a friend." He glared at her as she smirked. "What, are you going to tell me that I'm wrong?"
He took several moments to consider his own answer; he could simply brush her off and go back to his work on his laptop or he could attempt this conversation in the hopes of getting them out there. As tempting as the first idea was, he knew he was going to have to bite the bullet and get this done and over with if he were going to get any proper work done today. Resigning himself to the latter, he stated, "You're not wrong. I am stubborn and prideful, but that is how I got this far. If it wasn't for my stubborn nature and my intelligence, my brother and I would not be where we are today."
Anzu's smirking features gave way to slight surprise, she was fully expecting him to blow her off, not respond with an open comment. Of course, she knew his backstory already. All of her friends did; ever since their misadventure in Noa's virtual world they became very familiar with his past. Despite having this knowledge, though, she never wanted to tread anywhere near that topic. There were some things in this world she simply didn't believe in touching; Seto Kaiba's past was one of those things. I don't even think he knows that we know about his past anyway, she thought to herself.
Seto thought it strange that she was taking a while to respond to his statement. From what he knew about her, Anzu was an open and curious individual and he knew that he ended with a vague statement, which should have piqued her curiosity. When she didn't press him for details and continued to regard him with her contemplative stare, he began to wonder what was going through her mind. "What's the matter? No insistent questions about what I'm referencing?" He poked at her, his own curiosity about her silence egging him on.
The corners of her mouth slowly tilted in a half smile. Maybe he doesn't realize that we know, after all? Anzu made sure to word her next sentence very carefully. "You're referring to your time in the orphanage, right?"
Seto felt a tinge of surprise. "Oh? I wasn't aware that you read those fan magazine articles. Are you actually one of my closet fangirls, Mazaki?" The sarcasm in his voice nearly made them both laugh.
"In your dreams!" She smiled in amusement. "Please, if I was one of your fangirls, your brother wouldn't let me within ten feet of you." She reassured him as she went back to her seat; he couldn't help but agree with her.
"True, Mokuba is about as protective of me and I am protective of him." He responded with sincerity.
Anzu's heart suddenly brimmed with warmth at that thought and found her eyes falling to where the locket would usually rest on his chest; imaging a very young Mokuba with a sparkling smile beaming out at every onlooker. "Ah, Mokuba. The current cause of our misfortune." She shook her head, "He certainly takes after you doesn't he?"
"Are you implying that I am somehow responsible for our current predicament?"
She sighed as she leaned against the palm of her hand on the table, "If I am then I'm just as responsible as you are. After all, we're the ones who unwittingly put him in the middle of our issues."
Seto scowled in response but he knew that she was right. The guilt he had been warding off up until now made itself sweetly at home on his shoulders and he sighed. "I'm afraid I must agree with you. I was not aware of how fond Mokuba has become of you, Mazaki. It was not something I accounted for when you landed on my front porch."
She grimaced. "'Landed on your front porch'? You make it sound like I showed up here with my stuff begging you to take me in. I'm not an-" she cut herself off before she could finish such a callous statement.
Unfortunately, Seto already knew where her sentence was going. "An orphan." He finished for her.
She cast her eyes downwards, partly ashamed for her thoughtlessness and partly embarrassed because she was somewhat wrong. Even though her parents were alive and well, she couldn't rely on them now and she wasn't sure if she would ever see them again. On top of that, her mother's family all but abandoned her while in need and she had nowhere else to go. In her own way, she was some sort of makeshift orphan. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."
"Don't be ridiculous." Seto waved her off. "I am many things, but sensitive is not one of them."
She cocked a disarming smile at him as she realized that was his way of forgiving her without actually saying it. "You know, I'm starting to get the impression that you're actually a lot nicer than you let us all believe," she said while crossing her arms over her stomach thoughtfully.
"And I was just beginning to think that maybe you are not quite as insane as the rest of your flock of geeks. You just proved me wrong."
Though he just insulted her and her friends, she couldn't help but take it as though he were poking fun at her and her smile only grew. "No, I'm serious. Yeah, you can be a jerk -in fact, most times you are- but you really can be nice. Sometimes."
He threw her a cocky smirk. "And what, pray tell, has given you this obtuse impression of me?"
She thought about it for a moment, then pointed nonchalantly towards the barricaded doorway. "The raven-haired boy that shares your last name and calls you 'Older Brother'." She smiled at him gently. "I would have to consider him the best example of your obscure kindness."
"And you read too far into things that do not concern you!" He snapped at her.
From this, Anzu got the distinct feeling that he was embarrassed. "And you're a bit more emotional where he's concerned as well."
He glared at her, silently daring her to continue.
She took that dare.
"Oh don't look at me that way; it's true and you know it. You're so cold and calculative that people wonder if you have a heart beneath all that ice. But anyone who takes one look at your brother knows instantaneously that you absolutely do and that he's the product of your care and concern. You do everything you can to care for that boy. And let's not forget the wrath people kindle in you when they threaten him." She smiled as he smirked at her comment.
It was true, he was extremely protective over Mokuba and did everything he could to protect him. The list of past threats have heard of the dire measures he takes to take care of his own and the prospective ones have learned where their predecessors have failed and backed off. Having one's livelihood destroyed for one slim chance to get at him was not worth the risks. "True," he nodded in acquiescence.
"You've also instilled in him a sense of protection and justice for others who need it and I'm grateful to have been one of those to benefit from that."
That caught him off guard.
"What are you babbling about now, Mazaki?" He demanded.
She laughed. "Ha! So the great and mighty Seto Kaiba knows how to play dumb? Go figure!" She rolled her eyes. "Must I list the times you have actually helped us? Helped me? Or better yet, helped numerous orphaned children smile because of your sense of giving?"
If he wasn't absolutely confident that he was incapable of being affected by flattery or praise, he would have admitted to himself that his cheeks were starting to burn. "You are making too big a deal about such things."
Anzu gasped and took a hard look at him. "I don't believe it…." She said, daring to make him feel uncomfortable with her gaze. She over exaggeratedly cupped her ear as if making an attempt to listen to him closely. "Is that actual humility, I hear?"
Seto scoffed and turned away from her. "Of course not. As I said before, you read too far into things."
"Oh really?" Her voice was challenging and his pride wouldn't let him back down from her.
"Must I repeat myself?"
"Then allow me to list some examples." She folded her hands together and rested them on the table, prepared for her onslaught.
He took the same posture. "Fire away, if you can."
"It would be my pleasure!" She stood and sat on the table, an action he scowled at and she promptly ignored. "One," She held her index to start her count, "you've helped Yuugi out on a variety of occasions. For example, you didn't have to take us to Egypt and, of course, once we got there, you didn't have to stay and bring us back. Two, you've rescued me, enough said. And the most obvious example, Kaiba Land; orphans get in free." She smirked with a raised eyebrow and Seto watched her with a stoic face.
"Is that all you have?" He asked.
She lowered her hand and rested it on her hip. "I have more, but these are the ones that stick out the most to me." These also don't make me sound like the professional stalker that I am, she thought. "Any comments?" She asked, hoping to get him to speak now and not delve into which other examples she's also aware of.
"Comments no, disputes plenty." He smirked and she rolled her eyes.
"Well then, let's have at them." She encouraged.
"One," he mimicked her finger tally. "If I didn't escort you all to Egypt, Isis and her freakish family would have kept bothering me and the last thing I need in my life is a bunch of hocus pocus while I'm trying to run a company. As you can see, it has been far quieter around here now that we don't have rare hunters, spirits, and monsters running up and down the streets.
"While I personally did not have to stay in Egypt or bring your goody two shoes band of geeks back to Domino, my brother is my priority and I will not leave him anywhere in the world without me unless it is at home where he is safe. Since he has some sort of strange attachment to you nerds, he wanted to know what would happen to Yuugi so of course I didn't leave him. As for bringing you all back, I did not want any bad press about me shipping the King of Games out of the country and leaving him Egypt. It would have damaged my image and, as such, would have been bad for business so it was much more prudent to bring you all back home."
Anzu sighed, "Right. So then, how are you going to explain away saving my life and Kaiba Land?"
Seto shrugged, "Simple, Kaiba Land is my charity and thus a business write off for my company. I need write offs at the end of my fiscal year and so all proceeds go directly to orphanages and non-profits supporting orphanages."
"And, 'orphans get in free' contributes to this... how?"
"It's a publicity opportunity."
She frowned, "Uh-huh. So then, please - why did you save my life? I know it wasn't a publicity stunt, the duel was not publicly aired, neither was there any profit in it for you."
Seto was silent for a moment; this was not necessarily a topic he wanted to discuss, but they were here already. He sighed before responding, "I owed you."
Anzu was taken aback at this statement. "Excuse me?"
He sighed and sat back in his seat, "You saved Mokuba at the risk of your own safety. Unless it was myself, no one else has put my brother's safety above their own. I owed you a debt and so I paid it back."
Anzu didn't know whether to feel flattered or angry. While she understood that she risked her safety to get Mokuba away from the rare hunters during the whole Battle City fiasco, she also didn't want to be repaid for something like that. It didn't matter if she was guarding the Kaiba brothers or not, she would do the same thing for anybody - being told that her personal character was something that incurred a debt was a bit insulting. She crossed her arms in a huff, a deep set frown on her face which did not go unnoticed by Seto. "Good Lord, what are you upset about now?"
She felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation. "I didn't do that for you to owe me." She grumbled out.
He rolled his eyes. "Well of course not. If you did, I would not have owed you."
She cocked an eyebrow. "What?"
He nearly growled in irritation. "Use that brain I assume you have, Mazaki. If you rescued Mokuba with the intention of putting me in your debt I would not have felt inclined to repay you. Instead, you helped Mokuba of your own accord without expecting something from me in return. Such cause for concern over my brother is not something I would ever overlook and will always seek to-" a sudden burst of laughter interrupted him. He looked at her as if she had just lost her mind, a possibility he did not discount. "What in the world?"
Anzu's vibrant cerulean eyes looked at him in glee. Her confusion melted away to amusement during his vague explanation as she realized he had a very difficult time expressing his own feelings. "Kaiba, why can't you just say that you were grateful?"
A sense of awkward discomfort washed over him. "You're babbling about nonsense again, and it is really starting to annoy."
She waved his comment off and proceeded to speak. "Look, when you feel grateful to someone you don't need to pay them back. A simple 'thank you' in response is good enough."
He growled, "Look Mazaki, I am not a dimwit. I know the sentiments of gratitude and how to properly respond to it."
"Then why didn't you simply say that you were grateful that I helped Mokuba instead of saying you owed me?"
"And pray tell, Mazaki, how do you suppose one can properly thank someone for saving something as valuable as a life with a simple 'thank you'? I could have never repaid you properly for saving Mokuba unless you stood in the same need."
Anzu shook her head and shrugged. "Gratitude is not about being on equal terms, Kaiba."
"Foolishness. Gratitude means that you have incurred a debt that must be repaid."
"No, it's a sign of humility that has the potential to bring others closer together."
"That's all perspective."
"So is your idea about debt."
"How is that?"
"You make it a point to not owe anybody; to pay back all your debts, correct? We'll, surprise, surprise, there are some debts in this life that you'll never be able to pay back."
He narrowed his glare at her. "What are talking about, Mazaki? I own a multibillion dollar international company. There is nothing that I cannot pay back."
"Oh? Really now?" She smirked at him. "Then what about your brother?"
"What about him?"
"Can you repay his love for you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Can you repay your brother's love and devotion to you?"
"I have heard many ridiculous things come out of your mouth, Mazaki, but I think this tops them all."
"Answer the question, Kaiba."
"Do not order me around, Mazaki."
"Just answer the question."
"What do you think the answer is? Of course not, but I give him all my efforts no matter what."
"But not because you feel indebted to him, right?"
"No."
"Because you want to, right?"
"What other reason would I-?" The knowing smirk on her face caused him to pause. He scoffed at her. "Don't look so smug, Mazaki," he grumbled out when he realized she won this round.
She laughed, partly in triumph and partly at the fact that he was a little adorable getting so defensive about his feelings for his brother. "It's obvious to anyone that you love your brother very much." She smiled as she recalled the times she watched the two brothers care for each other. It was those silent observations that always made the difficult days bearable. He really was a good brother and caregiver. And if he was such a good caregiver…. "You would probably make a wonderful father, too," she mused to herself quietly.
His head snapped up so fast it made her neck ache in response. "What did you say?" He asked, shocked she would say such a thing in front of him.
When she realized she had said that out loud, she smacked a hand over her mouth. Ah crap, she gulped nervously. She tried to avert her gaze from his intense focus on her, frantically thinking of a way to change the subject. "Uh... um-"
"Say it again." He demanded.
It was her turn to be surprised. "I… I'm sorry?" She said, not quite sure she understood him clearly.
"Must I repeat myself?" He scowled. "Say. It. Again."
She cocked a curious eyebrow, before allowing herself to say, "You would probably make a good father, I think." She felt the heat rising into her cheeks as she completed the sentence. And she was sure she felt the heat intensify when she saw a small, sincere smile touch the elder Kaiba's lips.
"That is what I thought you said." Realizing that he had earnestly sat forward to hear her repeat herself, he relaxed back in his seat once again. She watched as she saw his eyes soften ever so tenderly and, for the first time, drift off into some unforeseen future where she could only imagine what he had planned.
Unable to contain her curiosity, she gently asked him. "Is that in your plans?"
Seto, who was surprisingly relaxed about being asked such an intimate question, nodded slightly. "Of course it is. I need an heir for the company when Mokuba and I are no longer able to continue."
She rolled her eyes once again, "Right, because that is the only reason."
That familiar scowl that was ever present on the CEO's face promptly returned her sarcasm. "What are you implying?"
Anzu smiled at him, "Kaiba, you have a wonderful poker face. You really do. But just now, your guard was down and that distant expression was in no way indicating that you were thinking about your company." She asked him kindly, "You were sincerely seeing yourself as a father, weren't you?"
His scowl set deeper into his face, "That is none of your business, Mazaki!" He shouted, feeling quite uncomfortable for being so open.
She threw her hands up in defense, "Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy; no need to get defensive on me." She said gently. He scoffed and turned away from her; she could feel the embarrassment rolling off of him in waves. "It's nice to have such a dream; you're lucky." She said with slight envy. "Not everybody can have that same kind of hope, you know?"
He scoffed again, "Do not try to placate me, Mazaki."
"I'm not!" She insisted a bit too passionately. Seto glanced over at her. "There are some people who can't have children of their own and could never hope to have a family! Those who can, and desire to, I believe they are lucky - blessed, even." She sighed and turned her eyes upwards. "They are truly blessed." She whispered, as her own thoughts turned inward.
Piquing his curiosity again, he asked, "Is it not for you?" He asked, hoping that he didn't sound like he wanted to get too personal with her.
He was surprised when he heard her melancholy chuckle, "No, not anymore." She whispered in a small, painful voice.
"Anymore?" He repeated. "Meaning that it once was?"
She shrugged. "I suppose you could say that. It wasn't as if I had any solid plans about when I'd be a mother, but it was something I expected at some point in my life. After all," she unconsciously touched her abdomen, "it's one of my rights as a woman, you know?" Her azure eyes left the ceiling and locked on his cobalt ones, "As it is yours as a man, right?"
Seto regarded her with deep contemplation and realized, probably for the first time, that she was indeed a woman and not just Yuugi's annoying cheerleader who tagged along everywhere he went. She had a path of her own that she wanted to follow, but the reflection of sadness he saw in her eyes told him that she had been hindered somehow.
Without breaking their eye contact, he asked her, "What happened?"
Her breath hitched and she turned away from him, breaking their eye contact. That was not a story she wanted to share. "Let's just say," she cleared her throat to rid herself of the frog that suddenly found its home there, "my… passions lead me down a different path."
"Passions?" He repeated, confused by her wording. "You mean, dance?"
A half smile found its way to her lips again as she looked at him. "Oh? I didn't know you knew that about me."
Seto smirked at her. "I'm Seto Kaiba, I know everything about my associates."
Her eyebrows rose high in pleasant surprise. "Associate, huh?" She smiled fully. "I suppose that's as close as I will get to 'friend' with you." She laughed when she saw him scowl. She cut him off before he could form a rebuttal. "I know, I know, 'you don't need friends', right?" She said, mocking him a bit, which set his scowl deeper on his face. "It's always the same story with you," She rested her chin in her palm again. "Well, at least you're consistent." She said with a slight hint of playfulness. "You don't need friends and you don't do apologies; tell me, Seto Kaiba," she urged playfully, "If these are things on your 'Don't' list, how do you ever plan to find a wife?"
Seto cocked an eyebrow, "Whoever said that I wanted to get married?"
"Well, you do want to be a father, don't you?" She reasoned.
"And whoever said that I planned to marry to become one?" He smirked when she contemplated his words.
"...You plan on adopting." It was more of a statement than a question. When his silence was her answer she sighed. "Well, that makes more sense."
"Are you surprised at this?" he asked, intrigued that she came to her conclusion so quickly.
She shook her head. "Nope. Actually, it would have been a lot more surprising if you did marry." She leaned back in her seat. She noticed the silent attention he was giving her as a cue to continue. "Go on," he encouraged.
She shrugged before continuing, "It would be out of character for you." She looked at him directly. "No offense, Kaiba, but you don't seem to be the romantic type. Plus, marriage would present too big a risk for you as a successful businessman. There are far too many gold diggers out there would love a nice big slice of this luxurious lifestyle you have and would be more than happy to try and take some of it away from you through divorce."
Seto regarded her with mild amusement. He had to give her some credit, she was partially right, but not entirely.
"I have to applaud you, Mazaki. You reasoned my abstinence from marriage quite accurately.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I wouldn't really call it reasoning, Kaiba. I should think it was obvious to anyone who saw how many fangirls you have."
He chuckled at her statement. "Fair enough, but I do have to correct you on one thing." Curiosity piqued an eyebrow as he continued, "I would marry if I actually found a woman worthy of my affections."
The shock on Anzu's face was absolutely comical for him. "What's wrong? Don't you think I'm capable of loving another?"
Without thinking about it, Anzu shook her head. "Not anyone besides your brother." She said honestly.
Seto smirked. "Well, it's truly reassuring that I portray such an image; but note this down as something new you've learned about me. I will only offer my affections to a woman who is deserving of them."
Anzu, whose head was suddenly swimming too fast to truly comprehend this new revelation of the CEO before her, asked, "And what kind of woman would that be?"
Seto closed his eyes to contemplate his answer. He never really thought about it, but then again he was confident no woman would be able to meet his expectations that he didn't feel the need to spell it out for anyone. After several long moments, he began, "I need a woman who is strong and independent. She needs to understand that since I am an unequivocally successful businessman, I will be away from home quite often and I cannot have her pinning for me while I am away. I need her to have a will and desire to be successful on her own, within her own sphere. Companionship, while it is desirable, will be rare and I would not want the woman I have chosen to be my companion for the remainder of my life to be aching helplessly over my absence. I want her to be happy.
"I also need her to be strong for any children we would have." Anzu noticed very notably the term 'would' in his statement. "I need her to be there for any sons or daughters we would have; to care for them as deeply as I care for my brother. Deeper even; I want her to put their needs above hers because they would need her far more than she would need me." He closed his eyes as the distant cries of a small boy with violet eyes and raven hair begged to be held by the mother he never knew rang through his memory. "She would also need to be a mother to my brother." He looked deeply into her eyes and Anzu felt her heart skip several beats right then. "Mokuba is under my care; I am the closest thing to a father he has had in many years and I would expect my wife to be the closest thing to the mother he never had. Though he is my kid brother, I will always regard him as my son."
Anzu wasn't quite sure what she felt in that moment. Her heart skipped many beats that shouldn't have been missed. Her breathing quickened and she was positive she felt her entire body flush from the smoldering sincerity his eyes consumed her with. Never, in all her surveillance of his routines and patterns, did she ever consider that the man before her would be so intensely passionate about family. Love, it had always seemed, was a hindrance to the CEO and the strength of one was all the strength he had boasted of needing. This declaration of marriage and family was so out of left field that she couldn't even make it to first base; needless to say, she was stunned into silence.
He chuckled an amazing sound when she remained silent. "Too much to wrap your head around, Mazaki?" He teased.
She gulped, hoping to clear the lump in her throat to respond normally, but her voice came out in a surprisingly flustered whisper, "It's… very surprising." Her words made her realize that she was suddenly really warm and began fanning herself. When did it get so warm in here?
He cocked an amused eyebrow. "What's the matter, Mazaki? Suddenly feeling the need for fresh air? The temperature in the room has not changed a degree since we've been here, you know."
She felt her already flushed cheeks blush even harder as she felt the familiar sense of being caught red handed; for what though, she wasn't quite sure. "I suppose it's just a hot flash?" She offered, not knowing what else she could possibly say.
He laughed and Anzu noticed it had a wonderful ring to it that she had never noticed before. "A hot flash? Really, are you going through menopause at the age of, what, seventeen? Or are you much older than what you look?"
She smiled wryly, "Sometimes it feels that way." She laughed at herself.
"Oh, really? And what could you possibly be doing everyday to make you feel old and tired?"
She thought briefly on that for a moment before responding with a smirk, "Babysitting."
They both laughed at that, "Really?"
"Yep, two brothers." She laughed to herself. "One is always hyper and a bit of a trouble maker. The other is very quiet, but he's passionate about whatever catches his interest. They can both be a handful at times," her smiling eyes sparkled at him, "but the more I get to know them the more wonderful they become."
Again, curiosity piqued his interest. Since this was a unique situation and he felt strangely comfortable in this new atmosphere, he felt that he could allow himself to indulge himself a bit more. "Tell me about them."
Anzu couldn't help but find the irony wonderfully entertaining. "Oh where do I begin!" She exclaimed. "Well, the youngest is absolutely adorable. You can see that he looks up to his brother very much and would do anything for him. He loves any activity that will put him closer to his brother, especially games! You wouldn't believe how many games that kid can play in one day!" She laughed, thinking of the time when Mokuba went through four video games in one sitting before moving onto a game of online chess. "It can drive me a little insane at times, but I love seeing him get excited about something he loves. It's a wonderful sight."
Seto couldn't help but be reminded of Mokuba; his brother loved games with a fervent passion because of their time spent in the orphanage - it was the only thing they had to keep them going. When Gozaburo adopted them and took away their games, Seto did everything in his power to try and get the games back from him for at least Mokuba's sake. It wasn't a surprise that he turned Kaiba Corp. into a gaming company when he took power; it was his own personal revenge against the man who tormented him and his brother.
He sighed, pushing the long passed memories out of his mind. "What about the oldest?"
Anzu suddenly felt her heart flutter erratically. Explaining Mokuba was one thing, explaining Seto to Seto himself was something else. Well, this is awkward.
Seto grew a bit impatient with her silence, "Well?" The memories were still scratching at the back of his mind and a distraction was welcome at this point.
She sighed, well, here it goes. "The oldest, huh? Well he's significantly older than his younger brother and, in his own way, can be even more of a handful. He's incredibly stubborn and thinks his opinion is right over everyone else's. He won't accept anything else other than what he specifically asks for and his temper can be downright fearsome if you get him to that point." She sighed and shook her head. "Quite frankly, he's selfish in every area except for when it comes to his brother." She smiled gently, "He'd give up anything and everything for that boy. I've seen him stand up to many people to protect his brother, even so far as getting into fights! Sometimes I think he has it in him to be a brawler if he really tried." She laughed, "He'd give Jounouchi a run for his money!"
Seto smirked in amusement, "Now let's not insult the kid. I'm sure he could beat the mutt easy."
Anzu could not contain the burst of laughter that erupted out of her. "He already has!" She laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I love Jounouchi very dearly. I do, but he's gone down so hard in front of that kid that I'm shocked he hasn't learned his lesson yet."
Seto, already surprised from her unprecedented outburst, couldn't help but ask, "What am I seeing? Are you actually withdrawing your support from one of your friends? Is the friendship cheerleader thinking about hanging up her pom poms?" He smirked, but was surprised to see her smiling sincerely at him.
"Oh, of course not. I've tried on many, many occasions to beat some sense into Jounouchi's thick skull myself, but he's the kind of guy that doesn't acknowledge such things as limitations." She shrugged, "It's one of the things that I love and simultaneously can't stand about him. I worry about him so much over that; he's going to get himself hurt so bad one day that he's not going to be able to recover, and I don't mean physically." She sighed, "But what can you do? He's so thick that once he sees a challenge he will never relent until he's conquered it." She leaned against her palm and looked directly at Seto, "He reminds me exactly of those two boys I babysit."
Seto smirked again, "I thought I just asked you to not insult them with that comparison."
She shrugged, "Call it an insult, but I think it's a wonderful compliment. They truly are a wonderful pair, despite any flaws that they may have. They have this tendency to make up for each other's shortcomings - the youngest is sweet, loving, and reasonable while the oldest is steadfast, strong, and stubborn. They balance each other out quite well and together they make an unbeatable team; they'll try to conquer anything in their path. Never before have I ever seen two siblings support each other with such passion and unity. " Passionate warmth spread throughout her heart that seemed to reach towards Seto and he suddenly felt the room grow a tad warmer than before. "If I ever did become a mother, I would want to have children just like them. They make me so proud."
Seto contemplated her expression for a moment. The warmth in her blue eyes when discussing these children brought a different sense of life out of her. She expressed her opinion of them so openly and honestly that he felt he could see right through her azure irises to her heart. Seto shook his head, he was not a sentimental man, but this bold open expression of thought and compassion was a touch overwhelming for him. He sighed and sat back in his seat again, running his hands through his hair. "You sound as if you truly love these boys."
His statement suddenly kicked realization through her head. She thought about his statement and what it meant; true she did care deeply for the Kaiba brothers, she wanted them to be happy and protected. It was that desire that led her to her decision within the KCSP to become more dedicated in her assignment to them; but this was the first time someone else ever said out loud what she felt. And not just anyone, but the man whose life she was responsible for.
Heat pricked at her ears as she felt her cheeks burn; her heart ached as she reached her full epiphany. In that moment, she knew that the words she said next would be solely from her heart; she gulped and whispered, "I do."
Seto cocked an eyebrow, studying her reaction to his words. It seemed to him that her love for these children went beyond feelings of friendship, she truly cared for these brothers. He felt the corner of his mouth tilt up into a contemplative smile, "You would probably make a good mother, too."
Time paused at that moment and something different began between them. The gears began inching ever so slowly in the opposite direction as the minutes ticked in reverse, unraveling the tension and unfamiliarity that had been woven between them over the years. The wind began to slow and the snow began to melt; the blizzard had come to an end and Spring bloomed in its place.
Seto and Anzu regarded each other for a moment, not as the cold, arrogant CEO of a multibillion international gaming company or as the dedicated cheerleader of her friends, but as a young man and a young woman who found a bridge that connected them in some strange, silent way.
The sound of footsteps entering the dining room startled them out of their communal silence and both were mildly surprised to see Mokuba standing there with hopeful expectancy. "Well?" He asked, hesitantly, "Were you able to make some progress?"
Anzu and Seto shared a brief, meaningful glance before Seto abruptly cleared his throat to break the atmosphere and stood to leave. Anzu stood from her seat on the table in response to his leaving, feeling that it was too soon for him to walk away before he paused and said, "You can stay here as long as you need to." He left before another word could be said, shocking Mokuba who turned to ask Anzu what happened between them, but was even more shocked to see her blushing pink face.
"Anzu?" He asked, tentatively. "What happened between you two?"
The question, for some reason, caused her blush to deepen in color, "W-what do you mean?"
Mokuba looked at her incredulously, "What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? Clearly something happened between you two. The atmosphere between you seems… I don't know, warmer."
Anzu took a second to absorb his words as she placed a hand over her heart. She smiled before looking at him, "Yes, I think you're right." She glanced back at the entrance where Seto disappeared before turning back to Mokuba and drawing him in for a hug. "You're absolutely right."