In the week following their oddly developmental weekend, Anzu and Seto found themselves not actively avoiding each other. They wouldn't leisurely stop and chat in the middle of the hallway, but would cordially acknowledge each other briefly -Anzu always being the vocal one- as they passed each other. It caught the attention of more than a few at school that the dancing queen of Domino and the Ice King were not at each other's throats.
With this unprecedented situation, rumors sprouted like weeds. The spectrum of their surmised romance ranged from platonic to graphically sexual. And with these rumors rose the cliched drama of best friends and fangirls.
On the one hand, Yuugi, Jounouchi, and Honda felt certain the rumors were false, but they couldn't deny that Anzu's sudden demeanor towards their long held archrival was more pleasant; friendly even. And the strangest part of it all was that Seto didn't ignore her. So it wasn't a surprise to anyone in the group when Jounouchi asked her about it during the lunch break.
"We're friends," was her simple response.
It took a few seconds for those words to process in their heads before all three of them laughed.
"Good one, Anzu!" cried Jounouchi.
"Oh, I needed that!" Honda said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.
Anzu shrugged their laughter off. "Laugh all you want, but it's true." She sipped from her thermos before going back to her boxed lunch.
The three boys sobered up and studied her face. She wasn't lying.
They erupted.
"What?!
"When?!"
"How?!"
She shrugged again. "Recently. But that's between me and him. He's not ready for anyone else yet so butt out." She took another bite from her lunch, completely unperturbed by their astonished expressions.
"But… didn't you guys hate each other just, like, a week ago?" inquired Honda.
"Something's fishy!" accused Jounouchi. "What's he got on you?"
Anzu felt a tick of annoyance. "Got on me? What makes you think Mr. Anti-Friends has anything on me?"
"Because he's Mr. Anti-Friends!" he countered.
"Right, so you're assuming he's blackmailing me to be his friend when he makes it so clear that he doesn't want them." stated Anzu. "How does that make sense?"
Her point was valid but Jounouchi wasn't convinced. "About as much sense as you being friends with Mr. Anti-Friends!"
Yuugi stepped in between his energetic friends. "Take his accusations with a grain of salt, Anzu. You know how he is." He shot both of them a disarming smile while Jounouchi just huffed.
Anzu sighed. "I know, but it's irritating to think that there's some secret about this. There isn't."
"So you're saying that both of you decided to be friends on your own after being at each other's throats for several months?" Yuugi recounted. "You know that doesn't make sense, Anzu."
Anzu sighed. "I know; and I suppose there is a reason-"
"Aha!" Jounouchi interjected as if he struck silver.
"-BUT that doesn't mean I have to share it." She smirked good naturedly. "Like I said, this is between me and Kaiba. Though I can promise you all that he's not blackmailing me or forcing me into this." She smiled kindly at them to reassure them of her sincerity.
Jounouchi grumbled and Honda frowned in disapproval, but Yuugi voiced his curiosity. "So, there's nothing going on between you two other than friendship?"
Anzu cringed a little bit. "When you put it that way it sounds so shady; and no. There's nothing else going on between us. Unless you count tolerance, but that's it." She said with a lilt before taking another sip from her thermos while the boys exchanged a glance between them.
"So you're not sleeping together, then." said Honda.
Anzu spit out her tea, sputtering and coughing the remaining contents out of her throat. "What the hell?! Where did you even GET that absolutely LUDICROUS idea from?!" She felt the flush start from her neck this time. "Guys, please don't tell me that you actually believed those stupid rumors going around…."
"Of course not!" protested Honda. "We just wanted to clear it up!"
Meanwhile Yuugi sighed, clearly feeling relieved to hear it straight from the source, despite his faith in her. "You'll have to forgive us, Anzu. We know they're rumors, but we wanted to hear from you anyway."
"Really, Yuugi?" Anzu sighed. "Honestly, Jounouchi and Honda I can see getting ruffled by this, but you?"
Yuugi blushed a little in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, but you know how rumors go. The more mouths they pass through the crazier they get."
"Yeah, well, that's true." She hung her head in her hands. "And truthfully, I'm expecting to be cornered by Kaiba's fangirls any minute now."
Honda raised his voice, exclaiming, "We won't let them get to you!"
Anzu smiled appreciatively but waved them off. "Thanks guys, but you know I can take care of myself. Besides, you know the bullying stuff is normally centered in the girls' bathroom. What are you going to do, hide out in the stalls then pounce when you hear them?"
Jounouchi and Honda appeared to be thinking it over.
"Don't," she warned, seeing the wheels turning in their heads. "You'll only land yourself in detention again. Maybe even suspencion by this point."
Yuugi snickered at his friends but he was still worried about his crush. "But Anzu-"
"You guys; thank you, but don't underestimate me." She smiled at them and flicked each of them on their noses in playful chastisement. "They won't corner me so long as I'm with others, but I can't be around you guys forever. They'll likely try it, but you know I can kick all of their asses with no problems." She winked at them.
Jounouchi threw his hands behind his head as he leaned up against the tree they were sitting under. "Yeah, that's true. If anything, we should be thinking about how to protect those girls from you."
Honda and Yuugi laughed as Anzu smirked. "Now that sounds more accurate." She smiled amicably at them before taking another sip of her tea. "Now enough about that. It feels like it's been forever since we actually had a chance to sit down to talk about."
"You can say that again!" exclaimed Honda. "I mean, not much has happened to us, but you…. Geez…."
Anzu threw him a look. "What about me?"
It was Jounouchi's turn to sigh. "Really? I can count on one hand the amount of times we've actually been able to sit down like this in the past month. Ever since….. Well…." he exchanged a hesitant look with the other two. "Look, we already know about your mom, but we have no idea what happened with your dad beyond what we heard on the news…."
Anzu's face immediately fell. She didn't want to recall that horrible situation. It was bad enough that her mom was taken from her, but then her father was up and called in…. And like THAT of all ways! Framing her father for her mother's "death" was just too much. The KCSP was nothing if not opportunistic. She wasn't naive, but their means to their end felt far more underhanded than usual. Probably because it was personal to her. They saw an opportunity and took it without so much as a concern for how Anzu would get on afterwards. If anything, they just shoved me right into Kaiba's arms, she thought bitterly.
Until her mind instantly recalled the amount of times she actually found herself in Kaiba's strong embrace at his private skating rink that weekend and it took every ounce of self control she had to not blush at the memories. She knew he was strong, but she had no idea the taller-than-average high school boy could catch her as if she were a weightless doll. Or that feeling the contours of his surprisingly muscular torso through his shirt wasn't a horrible experience at all. She rather liked it, but there was no way in hell she was going to accept that. It's a shame that all those looks are wasted on his personality.
She sighed inwardly, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "...I suppose a lot has happened in the last few weeks, I guess…. It's actually hard to… keep up with it all." And that was the truth of it. First her mother, then her assignment, then her father, then her aunt, and now actually living with the Kaiba brothers unbeknownst to everyone save a select few people. She didn't even know if she wanted to tell the guys about her staying with Kaiba.
Yuugi reached his hand out and placed it carefully on her shoulder. "We're always here for you Anzu. You're very important to us and we just want to be there for you."
She smiled brightly at the sincerity in his eyes, which made him blush like a fire hydrant. "Thank you so much, Yuugi."
Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we're always here for you, but now we need you to spill it."
Yuugi and Honda groaned at their friend's distinct lack of tact.
Anzu felt a vein tick in her forehead. "Spill what exactly?"
"You know exactly what I mean!" he accused.
Sorry Jounouchi, I've got a bit too much on my plate to freakin pinpoint what the hell you mean right now! She thought with frustration. "How about you speak clearly or I won't tell you a damned thing."
Jounouchi nearly growled. "Anzu, you can't fool me. It's nice knowing that you and Kaiba aren't sleeping together, but there's more to it than that."
Anzu rolled her eyes. "I just told you that there's nothing else-"
"Then why are you riding to school with him in his limo?!" shouted Jounouchi. Yuugi and Honda gaped at this information; apparently they were left out of the loop on this one.
Anzu snapped her mouth shut. Crap, of all the details to miss…. After some discussion between the three of them over dinner, Mokuba got Kaiba and Anzu to agree to them dropping her off at school since the distance from their mansion was much further than her previous home. It wasn't something that they wanted to broadcast though, so they agreed to let her off a block away from the school so they would walk in separately. She thought that would have been enough to keep it a secret; but she also forgot that her dear friend was a humanized hound dog. For being so protective of her he was also the biggest gossip in the whole school. Very few things got past him, for better or worse.
Clearly the latter here, she thought.
Yuugi turned to her. "Anzu, i-is this true?"
Anzu sighed out loud. "Agh, yes! He's been giving me a ride lately."
"But…."
"We always saw you walk in on your own!" protested Honda.
"Yeah, because I didn't want to draw attention to it," she glared at Jounouchi, who had the nerve to look irritated at her.
"Don't give me that look. I didn't share this info with anyone else. I just want to know exactly what's going on with you and the enemy." Jounouchi huffed indignantly.
Anzu, despite all of her irritation at her friend, she couldn't help but snicker internally. She had no idea that Jounouchi could look so incensed at her. She cleared her throat, allowing her irritation to set back in. "Jounouchi, remember how I told you to butt out just earlier in this conversation?"
"Hell no, I'm not going to butt out!" He claimed. "I don't want that jerk anywhere near you!"
Anzu bristled in offense. "Now just hold on just a minute. What in the world do you mean by that?! I agree that Kaiba doesn't necessarily have the best attitude but he's not some conniving evil mastermind! You know that well enough yourself!" She felt herself rising from her seat on the grass.
"He's a cold hearted bastard who doesn't care about anyone but himself and his stupid company." Jounouchi spat out in disgust.
"He's an older brother who stands on his own two feet despite having numerous enemies pointing swords at his and Mokuba's throats on a daily basis!" She was on her feet now. "He's far from perfect and he's a jerk, but he's a good guy!" She cried out, completely unaware of her own volume.
Jounouchi's expression soured as Honda and Yuugi gaped at her. "See, just three weeks ago you would be jumping in agreement. You certainly changed your tune fast. You can't convince me otherwise. So either spill, or I'll never trust you again."
"Jounouchi!" cried Yuugi and Honda. "You're going too far man!"
"I'm tired of this!" He yelled. "First she hates his guts and now she's defending him and calling him a 'good guy'. If she knew what he said about her mother she wouldn't be-"
"I know what he said! He told me!"
That shut him up.
"He did what?" asked Honda in disbelief.
She sighed and fell back into her seat. "This was between him and me but since you won't freaking drop it I'll tell you. Geez…." She lowered her voice to return the privacy back to their conversation. "Look, he told me. He told me what he said and even apologized to me. It was a shabby job of one, but he did."
She might as well have dropped the mic and walked away with how stunned she left them. It took a few moments for the information to process before….
"I'm sorry, did you just say that he APOLOGIZED to you?!" cried Honda.
Anzu sighed again, "Yes, he did. And it was such a horrible apology he offered that I smacked him across the face for it." And was spirited away to a warehouse for "proper" punishment for it too. She felt her ribs throb at the memory but ignored it. She healed quite quickly from her injuries since she was able to put up a decent fight, but she would literally be damned the next time she even so much as touched him with irritation.
Jounouchi and Honda smirked in pride while Yuugi sighed. "Good, he deserved it."
Normally, Anzu would have agreed immediately, but right after her conversation with Kaiba on Sunday she paused before responding. "I wonder about that," her voice was distant.
Honda furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is," she adjusted her position on the grass, her foliage now scratching at her legs despite the blanket beneath them, "he's a jerk and socially inept, but did he deserve to be slapped for an apology that he didn't have to go out of his way to make? What would you have done in his shoes after saying something insensitive behind someone else's back? Do you think he still deserved it?"
Jounouchi bristled visibly but Honda and Yuugi exchanged a pitying glance at each other. "His attitude is enough to make him deserve it," mumbled Jounouchi spitefully.
"But that doesn't mean it was right for me to hit him." She sighed as she felt a slight headache coming on. "I know it might be a little hard to get, but in this case I was wrong. So I apologized to him."
The protest from her tall blonde friend nearly destroyed her ear drums. "YOU WHAT?!"
"Jounouchi, shhhh!" Yuugi chastised as more onlookers glanced their way. It was a good thing they were outside and not in the cafeteria.
"I can't believe you," He exclaimed in abject disapproval. "You had absolutely nothing to apologize for, Anzu." He glowered at her, frustration and agitation mounting as his confusion grew.
She received his outburst with a demure maturity that was beyond her years. "According to my conscience I did. I know you don't agree with me on this, but I wasn't guilted or coerced into making amends." Well… maybe a little bit by Mokuba, but I'll not mention that, she thought to herself with an inward smile. Honestly, if it took smacking the eldest Kaiba across the face and the youngest Kaiba barricading her in a room with him to get these kinds of results then it was worth it to her in the end. After all, a highly unlikely event has begun so why complain about the method?
She cleared her throat as she leveled her gaze with Jounouchi. "Listen, I love you guys and you know that. Nothing's going to change that, but please understand that I have a very rocky and unstable friendship with him right now. Yes, it was weird how it even started, but the fact remains that we agreed to take it slow for him. We have a mutual understanding of each other right now and I don't want to jeopardize that."
"And whether you feel I was right or wrong to apologize in your opinion isn't something that will change my mind. So, please, respect my decision and where my new….relationship with him," Gosh that sounds so weird! "Now stands." She took the final sip of her tea before closing her empty thermos and thrusting it back into her lunch box.
Yuugi visibly bristled with her explicit line in the sand about her relationship with Kaiba. He understood where she was coming from, but he couldn't deny the unease he felt about her putting such protective limits on their involvement with him. After all, they were her friends so any friend of hers was a friend of theirs; hence Jounouchi's absolute rejection of this new development. He didn't want to welcome the arrogant teen into their tight knit circle after so many previous disappointments. Why should the billionaire get all the good stuff? Money. Fame. The girl.
A jolt of jealousy shocked Yuugi. He didn't like where his feelings were headed. He didn't want to be jealous of Kaiba; he never was. He may not have had the glory of being a successful business tycoon but he had his friends and family and felt that he had a pretty good life ahead of him. He wanted for nothing, except for the heart of the girl he had fallen in love with. He never felt like he was going to lose her before but now… this new wrench that is an exclusive relationship between Anzu and Kaiba felt like it could change everything.
He didn't like it, but he also didn't want to hate it. Anzu wasn't his to control and he respected her decisions; so despite the conflicting feelings in his gut he said, "As long as you're sure, Anzu. We'll do our best to support you from the sidelines."
"But Yuugi!" Jounouchi protested immediately.
"Jounouchi, Anzu has been able to do what we haven't been able to do for years now. And while I wish we could all just welcome him in, we need to respect their decision." He inwardly winced, feeling that twinge of unease in his chest once again.
Anzu smiled gratefully at her long time best friend. "Thank you, Yuugi! I really appreciate that and I'm sure Kaiba will, too."
Her beaming face was enough to make him blush, so he averted his gaze in hopes to quell the urge. He scratched the back of his head shyly, "Not a problem, Anzu. You know you can always count on us for anything. Right, guys?" He glanced at Jounouchi and Honda, trying to get them on board.
And since Yuugi was their unspoken leader, the tall teens relented, one more reluctantly than the other.
"Fine…. Keep your shady friendship with ice dick," Jounouchi huffed out. "But the minute he even touches you wrong I'm gunning for him."
Honda echoed the sentiment, "I don't think Kaiba will hurt you, but yeah. He does anything to make you uncomfortable, you just give us a call."
Anzu chuckled lightly. "Thank you, guys. For real." She stood from her position, her lunch now finished despite the intense conversation. "I'm going to go ahead to class guys. I'll see you there." With that, she waved at them as she quickly disappeared into the building.
Yuugi, Jounouchi, and Honda watched her take off in mildly stunned silence. Anzu had changed, then again with the loss of her mother and who knows what going on with her father they weren't exactly surprised. But this change seemed to pull her away from them. They were reluctant to accept it, but it was her life. If she wanted to keep a friend aside from them she was within her right to do so, even if it was someone whom they've bumped heads with several times in the past. Deep down, they knew that Kaiba wasn't a bad person. Whether he was a good person remained to be seen; but they were confident in the fact that Kaiba would at least keep her from harm. If he really was accepting her into his miniscule circle then they could rest easy knowing that his enemies wouldn't be able to touch her.
Now whether Kaiba himself would hurt her or not… well, they would have to cross that bridge when they came to it.
After Anzu had dismissed herself from the guys she heaved a massive sigh in relief as she walked down the halls to her classroom. She never planned to keep her growing friendship with Kaiba a secret from them, however it was a weight off her shoulders now that it was blatantly out in the open with them. She wasn't a fan of the rumor mill at school, but there wasn't anything she could do about that on her own. Eventually the student body would grow tired of gossiping about the "Azure Ship" as she heard one group of girls call it; it was just a matter of time. Patience and time would sink this ship, she was sure of it.
But will it sink faster before I get cornered? She thought to herself.
While she can very easily handle herself if she were actually confronted by some disgruntled fangirls she still didn't want to get caught up in that mess. She had enough on her plate without having to deal with petty jealousy.
She reached the door of her classroom and opened it to find the famous CEO sitting at his desk with his laptop opened. She fought back a tiny smile as the recent familiarity with him made her feel both anxious and happy to see him in this casual setting during the week.
He must have heard her open the door however since he looked up to see her and nodded. She returned his acknowledgement with a friendly wave before making her way over to her seat. There wasn't much time before their next class and while she didn't want to bother him she did want to briefly go over their assignment from Higurashi. It had been a week since their last meeting with her so it was time to get their answers solid.
Quietly she stood from her desk and tapped him on the shoulder, suppressing a chuckle when she saw him almost imperceptibly stiffen. Even mentally he refuses to be visibly caught off guard. He glanced at her, clearly annoyed at being interrupted. "What is it, Mazaki? I'm working."
She fought the urge to roll her eyes, instead choosing to place her hands on her hips to refrain. Still rude I see. "I wanted to go over our answers regarding our assignment with Higurashi-sensei. I think we're having a meeting with her today. It's been a week since we last met with her."
His brow furrowed as he recalled that they were indeed due for another meeting with that irritating professor. It was an annoying end to a surprisingly productive week. Not once had he or Anzu argued after their weekend spent in the dining room and at the ice rink. He was out of his element when it came to this friendship thing, but he was grateful for the peace it brought. Without their bickering, he managed to not only finish his new product design this week but was also able to have more time with Mokuba -plus Anzu- who had actually begun focusing more on his school work before playing video games and his own duties for KaibaCorp. Whatever magic Anzu was using was working and he respected that. She indeed would make a good mother.
A sudden, graceful hand waved in front of his face and he found himself snapping back out of his introspection. "Hello, Kaiba?"
He scowled at her. "What was that for?"
She huffed, "Because you were staring at me." She smirked at him before teasing him, "Like what you see?"
His thoughts momentarily went white as something akin to heat stung his ears. Refusing to stammer like an idiot he merely coughed and turned back to his laptop. "What a vulgar joke."
Anzu merely sighed. Baby steps. "Ah yes, ever the proper gentleman. You know, you are an anomaly amongst your male peers." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Seto looked at her out of the corner of his eyes silently. It was quite obvious that he was different from other teenagers his age. He wasn't interested in hormones and skinship. He was focused on growing his business and keeping it successful. "Would you prefer me to leer at you as if you had nothing more to offer than your figure?"
Anzu was stunned by that. "Of course not! It's a relief for me actually; I don't have to worry about you trying to cop a feel on me." She hugged herself protectively. "If nothing else, I feel safe with you about that."
Seto smirked a little. "Is that so?" He saw a demure blush cross her cheeks and he couldn't help but think that she was adorable at that moment. He scowled at the impression and shook the thoughts out of his head. "We will make note of that. You feel safe with me."
The blush deepened on Anzu's face as she nodded. Truthfully, despite her responsibility in monitoring the Kaiba brothers she always did feel a sense of personal security around the eldest brother. Of course he had more than his fair share of endangering her and her friends, but she rarely felt that he couldn't get them out of the situation. No matter how you look at it he was very attentive to their needs, even if he was an ornery prick most of the time.
She smirked and chuckled to herself before turning to him. "Okay, so we're adding that to the list, right? Along with what we spoke about over the weekend?"
He glanced at her again. "Which was?"
She gave him a disbelieving look. "You don't remember telling me that you would be willing to marry if-" a hasty hand shot out to cover her mouth, stunning her into silence.
"Do not repeat that here!" He scowled at her with his piercing cobalt eyes. "Have some presence of mind, please. I would prefer to keep that between us if that is at all possible."
Anzu removed his hand from her mouth as she threw him a confusing look. "I thought we agreed to label that as something I learned about you?"
Seto grit his teeth, "Use something else. I do not wish to advertise to the masses what my private preferences are."
She rolled her eyes. "This wouldn't be getting out to the masses," he glared at her, "but all right, all right." She threw her hands up in the air. "We'll keep that between us." She couldn't help but feel a small sense of privilege that she was privy to such an intimate piece of knowledge about him that no one else knew about him. Nevermind his daily habits that she was already thoroughly familiar with. But it's not like I can use any of that information anyway. She sighed. "So then, what else could I use with my share of the assignment?"
Seto sat in his seat thoughtfully as he contemplated. He didn't like sharing things about himself, hence the reason why he preferred to be kept out of the tabloids and public eye save for his business and charitable events. However, since this project was set to count towards their passing or failing this class he would have to relent.
It was a shame that he couldn't think of anything, though. He sighed. "What sort of information is shared amongst friends?"
That caught Anzu off guard, but she responded with ease. "Well, lots of little things. Like, your favorite food, when your birthday is… if you're into compatibility then your blood type."
"I like filet mignon with foie gras, my birthday falls on the twenty-fifth of October, and my blood type is A," he rattled off.
Again, she was caught off guard. "Oh… kay! That was an information dump!"
He scowled at her. "You're the one who suggested this friendship ordeal. I am more than happy to call it off for the sake of simplicity."
She returned his scowl. "Oh for crying out loud, I didn't mean it like that! I was just surprised that you rattled off your answers so quickly." She huffed, shrugging her shoulders "Honestly, but… thank you." She gave him a slight smile. "This does make things easier for me on my end."
He stopped scowling at her but didn't respond to her. Merely nodding in her direction. Truth be told he was uncomfortable with sharing that much information about himself, but this much should be fine. Right?
Suddenly the bell rang which signaled the end of their conversation as their classmates began filing in through the door. Anzu nodded at him before returning to her seat so they could both prepare for their next class, when suddenly it hit her. Isn't his birthday coming up next month? Wait… HOW DID I NOT ALREADY KNOW THIS?
"Kaiba-san. Mazaki-san. Please see me in my office. Nosaka-san, please oversee today's self-study again." Higurashi-sensei wasted no time as she opened the door to their classroom to call Anzu and Seto out of class. This being two weeks in a row, however, brought many eyes to them. Anzu could feel the questioning gazes of her friends and she walked out with Seto. And with the rumor still fresh and present in the forefront of their peers' minds, it caused more than just a little stir as they closed the door behind them.
Following Higurashi-sensei into the teacher's offices the two brunettes quickly sat down, ready for their next interview.
"Well, then, Kaiba-san, Kaiba-chan." Higurashi-sensei began, ignoring the rolling of the eyes from her two students, "What have you learned about each other this week?"
Anzu reviewed the recent conversation she had with Seto just before lunch ended, trying to decide on which piece of information to share with Higurashi. "He's a Scorpio."
To her surprise, Seto blanched at her statement. "What the hell do you mean?"
She glanced at him in confusion. "Your birthday is October twenty-fifth, right? That means you're a Scorpio."
Higurashi couldn't help but chuckle. "Well that explains a lot."
Seto shot a suspicious gaze at both females. "And what exactly does it explain?"
Anzu took a moment to think about it before answering. "In general, Scorpios are quiet, think a lot, and they're also very committed to their goals." She said, recounting what she remembered from a compatibility book not too long ago. "But they also have a tendency to hold grudges against people who have wronged them, almost indefinitely." She glanced at him. "Yeah, I'd say that's about right for you."
Higurashi chuckled again and Anzu joined in. Seto, on the other hand, didn't know whether to be offended or impressed.
Higurashi wrote the Anzu's piece of information down before turning to Seto. "And what about you, Kaiba-san? Do you know Kaiba-chan's zodiac sign?"
That caught Seto off guard. Why would he know her zodiac sign? "Why would I know something like that? I don't even know her birthday."
Higurashi rolled her eyes. "Typical husband, always forgetting the important dates."
Anzu snorted out her nose, completely blind sided by their teacher's off hand comment. Seto scowled, annoyed at this unnecessary jab. "I hardly see the importance of remembering a day that inessence just celebrates a person completing another year of life."
"Well, do you know Mokuba's birthday?" asked Anzu.
"What a moronic question, of course I do."
Anzu scowled at him, Kaiba will be Kaiba no matter what. She sighed, "Well, then? When is it?"
He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. "Why would you want to know?"
"Because I want to know when to make him feel special!" She exclaimed.
Seto rolled his eyes. "You do that already without having to try."
Anzu blushed heavily at his matter-of-fact statement. She didn't expect him to say something so gladdening. "Oh, I see…." She brushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear. Seto caught the shy action and averted his gaze away from her. He didn't want to risk any further unwarranted passing thoughts.
During this far more improved encounter from the previous week, Higurashi couldn't fight the entertained sparkle in her eyes. She was feeling giddy at this bizarre experiment that she forced on them was actually working.
Even though she had yet received an answer from the male of this couple.
She cleared her throat to regain their attention. "Well, what about yourself, Kaiba-san?"
"She said that she feels safe when she's with me." He spoke with an even tone that didn't betray the slight clench he felt in his chest. He wouldn't let this strange effect she had on him gain any more purchase than what it already had.
Higurashi cocked an eyebrow at his response. "Well, that's nice. But I was asking if you knew when her birthday was."
Seto tensed a bit as Anzu suddenly found herself blushing again. "I just explained that I do not care to remember such events."
Higurashi scowled. "What you deem to be important versus what your wife deems to be important should be discussed and reconciled. How would you plan to raise children if you're always at odds with each other?"
Anzu's face was aflame with red and Seto wasn't certain if he was angry or flustered at the audacity of this teacher.
"Oh don't give me that look." She said, rolling her eyes at their reactions. "I'm not saying that you two are going to have children with each other. I'm merely speculating on a potential problem that could arise in the future with your actual spouses." She placed her clipboard down on her lap. "Remember that this may be a simple assignment but it is not without real world applications. Otherwise this would be a worthless lesson."
Anzu was still too stunned to say anything in response, not entirely sure how to take her teacher's bold though brief suggestion of her having children with Seto.
"You seem to enjoy taking far too many liberties with what you say, even for an instructor." Commented Seto with clear disdain in his voice. He didn't appreciate people making jokes about his future.
Higurashi cast an uncaring expression in his direction. "That may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that I am your teacher and I still require a proper answer to my question."
"And I already told you that I don't know," he bit back irritatedly. "Besides, I already gave you the information you requested for this assignment."
Higurashi waved him off. "Well, now it's part of the information you need to give me. And since you don't already know, then how about you ask her?" She gestured to Anzu before crossing her arms and waited patiently.
Seto clenched his teeth, refusing to relent to this teacher's manipulation.
Anzu glanced between Higurashi and Seto, confused as to why this was getting out of hand. "Higurashi-sensei-"
"Let him speak first, Kaiba-chan. We can conclude this meeting after he's asked you and you have answered." Anzu opened her mouth to speak but Higurashi interrupted her, "Don't answer for him. Let. Him. Ask. You."
Anzu snapped her mouth shut. She knew that tone; Higurashi wasn't playing around. She face-palmed mentally. My handler is certainly something else. Who talks to Kaiba like that?
Seto stood quickly, his patience gone and his irritation high. "I don't have time for this." He made for the door as he heard Higurashi sigh.
"Very well. I'll fail you both right now, then." She picked up her clipboard.
"Wait, what!" Anzu exclaimed.
"This is a team effort, Kaiba-chan. If your husband can't swallow his pride and ask you a simple question about you then obviously he doesn't have what it takes to make even something like a marriage assignment successful." Higurashi said, her tone dismissive.
Seto audibly growled before snapping back to the women. "You are infuriating!" He exclaimed at their teacher. "But fine!" He looked at Anzu, his face none too pleasant. "Mazaki-"
"Anzu. Call your wife by her name." Higurashi demanded, her expression icy.
The air stilled and an awkward tension set between them. Even though they had agreed to be friends previously, they hadn't given each other permission to use each other's given name. Despite the fact that she was staying with him under his roof and tutoring his brother. Seto felt beads of sweat bubble on his brow; it was discourteous to use someone's given name and though he didn't care about respecting her group of friends, he had reached a different level of respect with Anzu. He didn't want to overstep her boundaries; a feeling that surprised him.
Anzu had an inkling of what he was struggling with. She wasn't sure if she was ready for him to start calling her by her name but… well, she was ready to get out of here and they could always talk about it later, right?
"It's… it's all right, K-" She saw Higurashi cast her stern gaze in her direction and stumbled. "I mean… dear…" Anzu felt her face blaze with heat as she saw Seto's shocked expression. "It's okay! You can… call me 'Anzu'."
Seto stared at her, taking in her blushing checks, her flustered fidgeting, and the uncertainty he saw in her blue eyes. His frown deepened and shot a look over to their teacher. "Listen, I understand that this affects our standing in the class, but it is inappropriate to force her into something she is uncomfortable with." He turned to Higurashi fully. "And seeing how she is under my care at the moment I will not allow you to coerce her," he said sternly.
Anzu was once again taken aback. Was he actually standing up for her right now?
Higurashi felt a smirk tug at the corner of her lips, but opted for a scowl instead. "So you are willing to accept a failing grade for the both of you simply because you don't want her to feel coerced into giving you permission to use her given name?"
"If it were all that simple, she would have allowed me a long time ago, considering our history." The truthfulness of that statement rang truer in his head than he expected but he decided to set that thought aside for later. "I do not appreciate anyone who forces their expectations onto others."
Higurashi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "That is ironic coming from a successful businessman."
Seto refused to allow her statement to rattle him. "Those are different issues. I have a responsibility to lead my company to success. Here, I am a student and since Mazaki is a close acquaintance of mine I will not allow her to be harassed by anyone," he glared sternly at Higurashi, "teachers included."
Anzu felt her heart skip several beats. She wasn't expecting him to get so heated on her behalf. And yet, there he was, scowling so deeply at Higurashi with that no nonsense air about him. It was a wall he frequently threw up when he was immovable in his decisions and this time he threw it up in front of their instructor on her behalf.
Suddenly the heat that tinged her face was no longer from embarrassment and she threw her hands to her cheeks. What just happened?
Higurashi sighed and pulled up her clipboard. "Very well, then." She scribbled fervently before standing up. "You're dismissed, both of you. I'll see you again this time next week."
"Next week? Didn't you say we'd fail?" Anzu asked, doing her best to refocus on the matter at hand and not the skipping beats in her chest.
Higurashi glanced at her. "While it is poor marks for not doing a simple task I gave you, you obtained your objectives today. So you are fine."
Seto and Anzu continued looking at their teacher. "What do you mean?" Anzu asked again. "How did we pass?"
Higurashi walked over to the door to exit the lounge. "I think it's pretty obvious that we learned he's protective of you, just now. We can revisit the birthday matter next week." And with that, Higurashi walked out of the room.
Anzu blushed wildly again and Seto felt his own chest clench at the realization. They exchanged a glance and immediately averted their gazes away once they made contact.
First the weekend, now this? What was happening?