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Post by Scribbler on Feb 2, 2012 12:09:29 GMT -5
Doubts and contradictions rattled through Anzu’s thoughts like loose change. The absolute calmness of Yuugi’s voice over the phone had spooked her. She stood out on the balcony of her rom, breathing the night air and wishing she knew what to do for the best. She had a feeling of foreboding she’d last experienced in a Domino Hospital hallways after he was caught in that warehouse fire. She had nearly lost Yuugi back then, and half a dozen times since. She kept telling herself this was all fake, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this time she was actively throwing him away.
“It’s not real.” The railing around her balcony was ornate metal to match the front gate, and reassuringly solid beneath her palms. “None of this is real. Seto doesn’t love me and I don’t love him. We didn’t start our relationship at Grand Prix. I’ve never kissed him. I’ve never wanted to kiss him. I wouldn’t want to kiss him if he was the last person on earth. I wouldn’t! We can barely stand to be in the same room together. We fight all the time. He’s annoying, his voice grates on my nerves, he always puts everyone down like they’re nothing and he’s done a squillion terrible things in his life. He has no redeeming qualities. None at all.”
Except for the part where he had paid her to pretend to date him so he could create the right impression with enough sponsors to provide a home and some happiness to dispossessed orphans. Except for when he had come to her rescue at school and given her someone to vent on when she needed it – something she coulnd’t do with her friends unless she wanted to hurt their feelings. Seto didn’t care; he was made of stone and nothing hurt stone. Then there was the part where he had given her and her mom a place to stay, had offered her mom more money to help with his project, and all the times he had put his own life and wellbeing on the line for his brother. What was next for the great and scary CEO: a crack team to raid puppy farms and find them all new homes? Free guide dogs for the blind? A fluffy kitten therapy centre? Each sounded ridiculous, except that they were no more ridiculous than reality over the last week.
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” she told herself. “He and Mokuba were orphans. Of course he’d have a soft spot for them.” Except … Seto Kaiba plus ‘soft spot’ equals ‘does not compute’. She shook her head and tipped it back, staring at the star-speckled sky. She hadn’t known what was best an hour ago, and she probably wouldn’t know an hour from now, either. “When did Seto Kaiba start acting like a real person instead of a cartoon villain?”
She remembered the way he had waited for her to finish her call to Yuugi, a slight smile playing across his face as she told Yuugi what he was to say. A kernel of dislike had stirred inside her at that smile, and she had tried to hold onto it, but afterwards he had paused in her doorway and asked if she was okay with all this.
“Like you actually care, as long as you get what you want?” she had asked scathingly, telling herself how much she loathed him.
He hadn’t looked shocked, but his face had gone as flat as Yuugi’s voice. “Depressingly enough, I think I do care. Goodnight, Anzu.” And he had left, stalking away like a tomcat looking for a rival to claw, leaving Anzu with her loose-change brain.
“This sucks,” she told the sky. “This royally, royally sucks.”
Of course, the sky didn’t reply.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 2, 2012 12:57:28 GMT -5
"Um, Rebecca?" The young American girl finally released him from her bear hug and beamed up at him. "How are you even here? I thought you were working on your master's degree, or something?"
Rebecca just casually waved her hand as though to dismiss such tiny issues. "I've got all the time in the world to take care of things like that. But when it comes to bitches like this," Rebecca whipped out an iPad and showed Mikata Teki's horrible, terrible, awful article. "There's no time to waste."
On the one hand, Yuugi did appreciate another ally showing up, but on the other, Rebecca, she could get some...interesting ideas in her head. "Rebecca, just what exactly do you think is going on?"
Rebecca cocked a smile and adjusted her glasses. "Anzu and Seto are apparently dating, though one of them's probably got something on the other, there's no way that's genuine, but more importantly this Mikata bitch is out to get Anzu so she made up this story about you cheating on him with you and starting fights and all that crap. Now, while Anzu and I may be love rivals, we are first and foremost friends; so sure, it would be fun to grab you and run off while Anzu's stuck with that Seto jerk, but common human decency compels me to do otherwise." Then she started tapping on her iPad and brought up a new article. "Now, apparently there's going to be a press conference tomorrow in front of the Kaiba Mansion and you're going to be there to explain how Mikata's article is full of bull, and if she wrote this tripe in the first place, there's no way she's not going to be there. So I'm going to be there to ambush her right back. Doesn't that sound wonderful, darling?" She asked, blinking rapidly with her big eyes.
"I, uh, I guess that couldn't hurt."
"I knew you'd understand Darling!" Rebecca hugged him again and pressed a kiss against his cheek; for an outgoing American girl like her, that probably wasn't all that big a deal, but for Yuugi, it was, no matter how many times she'd done it before. "All right, I'm going to go find a motel to stay at tonight, and then tomorrow, the big event." She finished with an almost evil sounding chuckle as she took off, leaving only Yuugi and his Grandpa. Grandpa himself shrugged and gave Yuugi a quick pat on the shoulder before retiring to his room.
"Other me?"
"Yes Partner?"
"I really hope nothing goes wrong tomorrow."
"Me too."
....
"Rggh." Mokuba grumbled as he turned about in his bed, unable to sleep; his body was still being uncooperative and his brain just wouldn't settle down, a million thoughts a minute each clamoring for attention and he didn't want to give a single immature, embarrassing one even a micro-second of his notice. He jammed his face into his pillow and cast out all notions of comparison to anything else he could have jammed his face into, he pictured sheep jumping a fence and nothing else in their place, he pictured nursery rhymes about Old Mother Hubbard and no other mothers at all.
It was not working.
"Okay, stop." Mokuba pulled his face from out of his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. "Please, just let me get some sleep." Unfortunately, no reply came, save yet more inappropriate thoughts that he refused to dwell upon.
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 2, 2012 18:43:37 GMT -5
Sakura Mazaki had given up smoking years ago. There were times, however, when she ached for a cigarette. Now was definitely one of those times.
Her paperwork blurred in front of her tired eyes. Setting down her pen and removing her glasses, she scrubbed at her face with the heel of one hand. She wasn’t thinking about centre problems tonight. No, tonight was reserved for Anzu and this bizarre situation she had somehow landed herself in. Anzu had come by a short time ago to tell her about the press conference, and a bad feeling had pervaded Sakura’s gut ever since.
Sakura was proud of her daughter and generally boasted about her good sense, compassion and drive to succeed. Her friends’ children were still at that stage where they were deciding what university to try for after school, while Anzu was already making plans for a life way beyond that. Way beyond anything Sakura herself ever hoped for, in fact. When she thought of Anzu, she thought of how grateful she was that her little girl never went in for all that loves-me-loves-me-not nonsense about the boys at school, sacrificing her studies to moon over love notes and shared diaries. Anzu did have one or two unfortunate incidents under her belt – running off to Duellist Kingdom and neglecting to mention the blimp ride and nights away from home until she was already in the air during Battle City sprang to mind – but those were exceptions. Anzu never got involved with bizarre nonsense.
Except for now.
It wasn’t that Sakura didn’t want Anzu to have a boyfriend, but this ‘fake relationship’ idea was so contrived. It didn’t take a genius to see the infamously icy Seto Kaiba was thawing around Anzu, but that wasn’t the thing that preyed on Sakura’s mind. Anzu was so vehement that the connection between them was a sham; that she was only doing this for the money. Yet tomorrow she was going to stand up and publically announce she was in love with him. The reason beyond the money was noble, but what neither of them seemed to have realised was that by putting a public seal on their relationship like this, it ceased to be a simple sham. Instead, it was becoming an elaborate scheme, with loopholes and a web of deceit that was no basis to build any philanthropic project on.
If so much rested on people believing their relationship was real, how could they still think they could dissolve it so easily after Saturday? Investors would feel gypped, and possibly rescind their support if they felt foolish or betrayed. Seto and Anzu would have to continue to pretend to be together until the project’s completion, and even then the memory of this ‘sham’ would follow them around for a long while to come.
Sakura put her face in her hands and hoped she wouldn’t have to be the one to point out this glaring truth to them. “I really, really want a cigarette,” she muttered.
….
Seto stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. He lay flat as a board, arms ramrod at his sides. He was tired, but something prevented him from closing his eyes and drifting off. He needed rest for the morning. The press conference was scheduled just before lunchtime, to give Isono and Mokuba more time to contact press offices who didn’t have a skeleton night staff. Yet the thought of sleep perturbed him.
Had it really only been last night he and Anzu went to that French restaurant?
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew the reason he was resisting sleep was because he didn’t want to have another dream like last night. With Anzu only down the corridor, and the acute knowledge of her there, he didn’t know if he could trust his unconscious mind not to play obscene tricks on him. This really was ridiculous. Before this week, he had barely acknowledged that stupid girl’s existence, except when she thrust herself into his path and become an obstacle to be overcome. She was just part of Yuugi’s entourage, not a person in her own right.
Now he had spent extended periods of time with her, however, part of him wondered how he could ever have discounted her as background noise. Anzu was an irritating, volatile, unpredictable, nonsensically principled, proud, bossy force of nature. How had Yuugi never been swept away by it?
Then again, Yuugi had his own irritating habit of mellowing those around him. Just look at that brute, Katsuya Jounouchi, and his lunkhead friend, Hiroto Honda. Seto remembered from his time at Domino High how they had bullied their way through the lower ranks of the pecking order. They were thugs, yet somehow Yuugi had elevated them to heroic status and they had lived up to it. It boggled the mind, really.
What also boggled the mind was how his own current situation had spiralled from needing a simple date to publically announcing his love for a girl who was more likely to kick his shins and run away than kiss him. Last night’s frightening dream played on his nerves until he turned over and forced himself to think about tax returns and the foreign market.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 2, 2012 19:56:39 GMT -5
Morning had come, and Anzu was glad that they had until just before lunch to get ready; she was going to need that time to apply her make-up, cover up the rings beneath her eyes, give her cheeks some much needed pink, lest the cameras pick up on how dead tired she was and thus inspire yet another round of rumors. Of course, even if everything went off without a hitch, there was still the matter of making it to Saturday, surviving the Party, and figuring out a way to end this whole thing without torpedoing the Green Gables project; before she knew about the project, Anzu wouldn't have had a second thought about dropping Seto after she got her money, but now there were so many other lives that would be affected, orphans who deserved so much more.
She imagined a horde of little Setos and Mokubas and how they all might have turned out if they'd had been able to avoid that monster Gozaburo, and sighed at how difficult it had all become. "I should try to get something to eat." Anzu stepped out her room and into the hall when she felt something bump into her stomach. She looked down at the boy that she'd just bowled over.
"Oh, sorry Mokuba, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going." She said as she held her hand out to pull him back up.
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 3, 2012 23:30:58 GMT -5
Mokuba stared at her hand like it might grow fangs and bite him.
“Mokuba?”
“Yes!” Jerkily he grabbed it and let her pull him to his feet. “Good morning!”
“Good morning to you too. Wow, you sure are chipper.”
“Good night’s sleep!” Mokuba’s eyes glittered. Anzu half expected a bushy tail to spring out behind him. “Are you okay? Can I help you with anything?”
“Well I was thinking about some breakfast –”
“No problem!” he shot past her, doubled back and actually jogged on the spot as he waited for her to turn and follow him. “This way!”
“Wow,” she muttered again. “And he hasn’t even had any caffeine.”
….
Seto descended into the kitchen for his usual morning ritual of newspaper and coffee so strong a spoon could stand in it unaided. He was slightly put out to find Mokuba and Anzu already at the table, Mokuba with a bowl of cereal in front of him, a plate of toast before Anzu. She looked up when he entered, one triangle sticking out of her mouth. A dribble of butter trailed down her chin as she hastily tried to bite off and finish her mouthful.
“G’mornin’.”
“Are you wearing that or eating it?” he asked scathingly.
She frowned at him. “Yet another way you two are like chalk and cheese.”
Mokuba looked disconsolately at his cereal, poking it with a spoon but not actually eating any. Seto raised an eyebrow as he passed on his way to the percolator, but didn’t ask.
“What time does this shindig start?” Anzu asked with careful nonchalance. She wasn’t fooling anyone.
“11:15,” Seto replied. “I’ve ordered a car to be sent to fetch Yuugi, in case his home is in a similar position to yours. He will arrive here at 10 sharp, so we can rehearse what he is and isn’t to say. The reporters will be let onto the grounds at 11 and taken to their seats. We’ve chosen to hold this in the Sunken Garden, since it’s relatively picturesque and close enough to the house for ease of set-up without being too close for paparazzi to try hiding inside after the press conference is over.”
“They’d do that?” Anzu asked in surprise.
“That and more,” Seto said grimly. He hesitated, before telling her about the time a photographer had popped open the trunk of the limo sent to fetch Mokuba from school, hoping to gain entrance to the Kaiba mansion that way. The only problem was that he locked himself in and nearly suffocated. If Takada hadn’t left his chewing gum in the glove compartment and gone back for it, the guy would never have been found – or would have been found when it was too late. “They’re a ruthless, reckless bunch,” Seto concluded.
Anzu looked shocked. “I had no idea. I mean, I see the pictures in magazines and stuff, but you don’t really think how they got them, do you? Well, obviously YOU do, but not regular people.” She paused to gaze thoughtfully at her half-finished toast. “Where’s the Sunken Garden?” It was a distraction, and not an unwelcome one.
“I’ll have one of the help show you around beforehand,” Seto said. “You’ll also have to speak to the Kaiba press officer and have the stylist look you over before you go on display.”
She looked aghast. Most girls would be pleased to have the attention of a personal stylist. Really, she was a most perplexing creature. “This is so weird,” she said.
“Weird doesn’t even begin to cover it,” he replied, taking his coffee and paper, and retreating to his study. “I’ll tell your mother to call your school and say you won’t be in today – although if anyone is watching the news, they’ll know why.”
“My attendance is going to be shot to hell before this is all over,” he heard her say as he left.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 4, 2012 0:10:59 GMT -5
"Yes, I understand Ms. Mazaki...no, we most certainly will not be counting this against Anzu's record...thank you for your understanding...yes, I hope that all this will work out too...good bye." Principal Yagami sighed as though in defeat as he slumped back in his chair. Rumors spreading like wildfire, assaults, and now not only was Anzu going to absent, Miss Chono had suddenly called in saying that she would be taking the day off too! At least they had a substitute at the ready with nothing else to take up her schedule, but still, what else was going to happen? That, he did not want to know, ever.
....
Mokuba was coming to a decision after the tenth time or so that Anzu made a quip to Seto about how much more pleasant he was than his older brother; nothing hurt quite like being complimented by the subject of a hopeless, senseless, one-sided crush. It was just...ugh, why couldn't he have gotten a crush on one of the girls from school, a girl who was actually at his age? "Because none of them compare to Anzu." A subconscious voice called out from within him, and he knew it meant more than just the crude, physical differences; her smile, her kindness, her determination and willingness towards self-sacrifice, and the fact that she could deal with Seto, help him to feel and not just keep everything locked away in an icy core, no other girl, much less any girl his age, could do all that.
"Mokuba, are you really okay?" He suddenly heard Anzu speak to him and he felt his hands getting clammy.
"Yes!" Crap, too loud. "I mean, don't I look okay?"
"Honestly, no." Mokuba grimaced inwardly, and was sure some of it was showing on the outside. "You haven't touched your cereal, you've got big baggy rings under your eyes, and you've been really tense for a while now. If there's something bothering you, you can tell me; I won't tell Seto if that's what you want." Mokuba felt his stomach sink in itself; she was acting like a big sister to him, and maybe if she'd grown up with him and Seto he'd feel that way about her, but they didn't, and he didn't.
"That's okay Anzu, it's just...something I need to deal with on my own. A guy thing." That was true, and he really hoped Anzu wouldn't ask anything more about it.
"Well, okay." Anzu's eyes suddenly grew wide open. "Oh, that's right! You should talk to Yuugi when he gets here, I'm sure there will be time before Seto and I have to work with him for the rehearsal." Mokuba took that in, and began to think that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea; Yuugi had extended his hand to Seto so many times, so why not to him?
"Excuse me, Anzu?" One of the many members of the help arrived. "Mr. Kaiba said you wanted to see the Sunken Garden and to visit the Kaiba press officer?"
"Sure, that sounds about right." Anzu stood up and gave Mokuba one last smile. "Don't worry, you're a pretty tough kid, you'll get through this 'guy problem' of yours." She walked off with the help, leaving Mokuba with some very unsettled, very mixed feelings.
....
"Mr. Yuugi Mutou?" Yuugi heard a voice he half recognized, and when he came down the stairs, he saw Kaiba's personal driver. "I'm here to pick you up and take you to Kaiba Mansion to prepare for the press conference today. Is there anything you need to gather up, or are you able to leave as you are now?"
Yuugi gave himself a once over and looked to his Grandpa.
"You look fine Yuugi, I'm sure the camera will love you." Yuugi appreciated the sentiment and the levity with which it had been delivered; he was going to need it to carry him throughout what was certain to be a completely unpredictable day.
"I'm ready sir."
"Good, then we shall be on our way."
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 4, 2012 15:25:50 GMT -5
“Wow.”
The sunken garden was hidden behind a series of low walls and thick hedges, plus a drop of six feet Anzu nearly toppled off before her guide showed her the stone steps. When she saw the riot of colour concealed there, she couldn’t hold in her exhalation. Her guide smiled and showed her around, making a point for her to see the fountain where an outdoor trestle table was set up.
“You, Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou will sit here,” the woman said, then gestured to the rows of folded chairs being lined up in rows facing the table. “The representatives of the press will sit here and ask questions of you.”
“This place is gorgeous.” Anzu stepped towards a clutch of purple flowers with enormous petals and bright yellow centres.
“Those are asters,” the woman informed her. “And over there are bouvardia, gypsophila and delphiniums.” She listed dozens of complicated names without taking a breath. By the end Anzu’s head was spinning a little. “And finally, dicentra spectabilis, otherwise known as Venus’s Car, or Dutchman’s Trousers.”
Anzu snorted. She couldn’t help it. “Sorry.” It was a combination of the silly names and the bare fact this place existed on the Kaiba estate. “You know so much about these plants.”
“I should,” the woman said shyly. “I’m the landscaper who designed this garden.”
“It’s beautiful. I never dreamed someone like Seto would let you create something like this. Wait, sorry, that was rude –”
“Don’t worry about it. And actually, he approved all my plans before I bought even one packet of seeds. He said the sunken garden was his favourite.”
“Really?” Anzu sounded sceptical – mainly because she was. “You’re not telling fibs to make him sound nicer than he actually is?”
“Of course not! Why would I do that?”
Anzu opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it again. Why would she be trying to convince Anzu that Seto was a decent human being? She had no time to formulate a response, however, as a gangly youth in a black suit, the apparently uniform of Kaiba employees, dashed towards them.
“Miss Anzu?” he panted. “I mean, Miss Mazaki?”
“Yes?”
“I thought you’d want to know that Mr. Mutou has arrived.”
Anzu clapped her hands to her mouth in delight. “Are we done here?” she asked the woman.
“Go on and meet your friend, miss,” the woman replied with a warm smile. “And thank you for indulging me.”
“Thank you for showing me around. This place really is gorgeous.” That said, Anzu started back towards the main house, where a limo was just pulling into view.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 4, 2012 16:04:10 GMT -5
Yuugi wasn't entirely sure what to expect when he stepped out of the limo, but Anzu running towards him with that smile on her face somehow was not on top of the list. "Anzu." Yuugi spoke with as much formality as he could manage, and thankfully his message reached her; we can't hug or anything like that, not today of all days. She looked a bit put out for a moment, but her smile returned as she extended her hand to him. Yuugi thought about it for a moment and decided there was no harm to it, so they shook hands.
"Yuugi." She said with repressed cheer. "We should go see Seto in his study right away, make sure we've got all our answers worked out to the nth degree." She let go of his hand and led the way. He followed.
"Did, did you sleep okay last night?"
"The bed was more comfortable than I'd imagined, but this atmosphere..." She waved her hand at the general existence of everything. "Oh, that reminds me, I think you should talk to Mokuba."
"Really? Why?"
"Something's been bugging him lately but when I tried to ask him about it, he said it was a guy thing. Maybe he's got a crush on some girl or something, I don't know, he won't talk to me about it, so I figured maybe you could talk to him, help him out a little?"
"Mokuba?" He supposed that Mokuba was getting to that age, he himself had started crushing on Anzu at about that time too. 'Course, he didn't know what he could tell Mokuba, but he owed it to the little guy to try, from everything Anzu had said Mokuba had been a big help in all this. "Sure, I can give it a shot when we've got the time."
....
Mokuba was still at the breakfast table, still nursing his cereal; he'd actually eaten some, but half of it was still sitting in the bowl, his stomach too tight to contemplate taking on anymore. Maybe after he talked with Yuugi, maybe then he'd be able to eat properly. Maybe.
"Ah!" Mokuba heard Anzu's mother's voice and froze up. "Now that was a good shower! I hope you and your brother appreciate what you've got here." It was everything that Mokuba could do stop himself from short-circuiting.
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 4, 2012 22:41:30 GMT -5
Sakura wandered into the kitchen, her damp hair twisted up into a chignon on the back of her head. She was wearing a different suit than yesterday, which she drew attention to by picking up the toaster and using it like a mirror.
“Tell your brother, or whoever got this for me, that they have excellent taste. I know it’s just in case the cameras catch me by accident, but this cut is divine and the colour is heavenly.” It was bright yellow with black stripes at the collar and cuffs. Mokuba thought it made her resemble a bumblebee, especially with the nipped in waist, but he declined to say so.
“Okay,” he mumbled, taking a bite of soggy cereal. His stomach protested.
Sakura put down the toaster and slipped in two slices of bread. As the scent of toast filled the kitchen once more, she went over to the window and leaned forward, peering upwards since the kitchen was below the ground floor of the house; a throwback to the days when servants really did work ‘below stairs’.
“Is that Yuugi?” she asked.
Mokuba bolted to his feet. “I’ll go see!”
Sakura blinked as his hasty retreat and abandoned cereal bowl. “Well that was odd,” she murmured. “These Kaiba boys are nothing like Anzu described.”
….
“Hello Yuugi!”
Yuugi was convinced his arm was about to come off with the force of Mokuba’s handshake. “H-Hel-lo, M-Mok-kub-ba –”
“Put him down, Mokuba.” Seto appeared behind his brother like the spirit of death emerging out of nowhere. “You don’t know where he’s been.”
The Pharaoh stirred in the bottom of Yuugi’s consciousness, reacting to the antagonistic tone. Yuugi tamped down the spirit’s urge to retaliate and instead held out his hand for the taller boy to also shake. Seto examined it for a moment like he really was looking for dirt, and then carefully took it.
“We’ll go to my study,” Seto informed them. “We can discuss proceedings there.”
Mokuba looked disappointed, but didn’t object. Yuugi resolved to speak to him immediately after Seto was done pretending he owned the world and everyone in it. He desperately wanted to have some time alone with Anzu, to get her take on this situation, but he recognised that today that was a bad idea; plus he could never deny her anything and she had specifically requested that he talk to Mokuba. Sighing, he followed Seto into the maze-like corridors and into his study.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 5, 2012 0:57:31 GMT -5
"So. We're all here now." Anzu said with a mildly annoyed huff. "First thing's first Seto, you can't be a jerk to Yuugi at the press conference; regardless of everything Yuugi and I are very, very good friends and I can't be in a relationship, real or otherwise, with someone who doesn't understand that. Furthermore, as much as I may not like it, I do have a reputation as the "friendship queen", so its really not going to work if you're a jerk to Yuugi."
"Do you really think I can't be civil?" Seto turned to Yuugi. "Can you think of any reason why I would be antagonistic towards you in the course of my relationship with Anzu?"
"No, of course not!" Anzu thought that she noticed something familiar about the way Yuugi had responded, but she couldn't place it. "Anzu and I may be friends, but our relationship is nothing like yours, and I have no problem with that. I, I also find the idea that she would cheat on you with me to be absurd, ridiculous, nonsensical."
"Good." Seto let out what Anzu could only think of as a sigh of relief, but over what? Something weird was happening with the Kaiba brothers. "So long as this is understood by us all, I can conceive of no reason why we should not be able to do this. So, let us begin working on our answers for every possible question that we might have to deal with."
"Right." Yuugi and Anzu responded simultaneously. An awkward silence descended, and passed just as quickly.
....
"Okay, everything's set." Mikata Teki had her official Goss-Pop press pass, which she'd printed herself thank you very much, and she even had a microphone. Her best dress clothes, looking nice and professional, the utmost care with her makeup, she looked like a true professional, and no one stopped to question her credentials. Now she was in the midst of a crowd of reporters, ready to pounce with her own questions, just whiling away the remaining time before she could start tearing into Anzu once more.
...
"Okay, everything's set." Rebecca Hopkins had done her homework, she was the American Duel Monsters champion, she had no difficulty getting her pass to Kaiba's sunken garden press conference, where no doubt that nasty Mikata Teki was somewhere lurking in the crowd like a leech in a swamp. She was almost distracted by the sheer beauty of the garden's, but then she remembered the cold fish who owned it, and that dried up real fast. All that was left to do now was to wait for Mikata to make her move and take her down; no one, but no one, messed with either Yuugi or Anzu.
....
"Okay, everything's set." Miss Chono had on a hat and shades, not wanting to be on film before the moment of truth when her good looks would finally be restored to her. Of course, odds were that she would have to unmask herself before that moment, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it and not a moment sooner. All that was left to do was to wait for the moment when Miakta tried to pull something against Anzu, and then she'd learn a valuable lesson about inexperienced she really was.
....
"Oh, man." Yuugi emerged from Seto's study a weary man, but according to his watch he still had another fifteen minutes before he had to head off to the sunken garden, so if he could find Mokuba quickly enough, he could make good on his favor to Anzu.
"Yuugi!" Mokuba emerged suddenly from around the corner. "I mean, Yuugi." Mokuba cleared his throat. "Uh, do you think we can talk now? In the coffee room?"
"Yeah, I think we've got time." Yuugi really hoped they did, that whatever was bugging Mokuba wasn't going to be too big a deal, he had a lot on his plate as was.
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 5, 2012 12:57:21 GMT -5
“Oh, good.” The relief on Mokuba’s face made Yuugi feel immediately guilty. “It’s just this way.”
Yuugi perched in a chair, unable to relax; not because the chair was uncomfortable, but because of what was headed his way with the speed of an out of control freight train filled with rapidly unspooling emotional baggage. He took a deep breath, put the press conference out of his mind, and turned a smile on Mokuba. “Okay, shoot.”
“This isn’t really something I like to talk about with Seto. He says I can tell him anything, but … well, he’s SETO. But this is a guy problem and, well, you’re a guy, and you’ve always been real nice to me, and I figured you’d be more understanding …” He took his own deep breath before blurting, “I’m having a problem with … the P word.”
If he had been drinking, Yuugi would have performed a beautiful spit-take. “What?”
“Y’know.” Mokuba motioned with his hands. It wasn’t exactly descriptive and made Yuugi’s cheeks start to flame with what the gesture might mean, given it was performed at waist height. “The P word.”
“The … P word?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m not thirteen until the summer, so I thought I had more time before I had to worry about it going all out of control, but it’s been showing up a lot in the last few days and I just … I’m so embarrassed. I’m scared Anzu and her Mom will figure it out and I just can’t deal with having to explain …” He trailed off again. “Y’know.”
Yuugi had a growing certainty he did know, and an equal certainty he didn’t want to. No wonder Mokuba didn’t feel able to talk to Seto; but by the same token, this was stuff better discussed with family. Yuugi had clear memories of his grandfather giving him ‘The Talk’ with the aid of puppets and enough euphemisms to sink a barge. Those puppets had been far too graphic and still gave him the creeps when he caught sight of them in their box in the attic.
“I wanted to know what I should do,” Mokuba said.
“Um …”
“I mean, y’know, puberty is a big deal and all.” He winced. “Man, I can’t even say it. I thought if I said it, I’d sound more mature. I’m just gonna stick with ‘the P word’, okay?” Mokuba looked embarrassed. “Yuugi, have you ever had a crush on someone you shouldn’t?”
Yuugi’s heart lifted that he had been wrong as to what ‘the P word’ meant, then plummeted at the question. Boy howdy, did he ever. He settled for nodding and looking concerned but helpful.
“What did you do about it?”
“Do you have a crush on someone, Mokuba?”
Wincing again, he nodded. “It’s really embarrassing. I start feeling all sick and sweaty. I thought love was supposed to make you feel GOOD.”
“You love this person?”
“No. yes. I don’t know. A crush is a kind of love, right?”
“Sort of.” Yuugi sighed. “Look, Mokuba, the truth is there’s no right answer to what you should do. If you think this person shares your crush, you should tell them. If not …” He tried to think how Grandpa had phrased it. “Crushes are like practise for real love. You get to experience all the feelings and get used to recognising them for what they are, but they fade over time. You know it’s real love when they don’t fade, or especially if they get stronger.”
Mokuba didn’t look relived. “You mean real love is WORSE than this?”
“No. Well, a little, but most of it is the best feeling in the world.”
“Have you ever been in love, Yuugi?”
Yuugi was saved from having to answer by a knock at the door. “Mr. Mutou?” A woman poked her head into the room. “It’s time. They’re ready to start.”
“Oh goody.” Yuugi rose to his feet, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful, Mokuba. Listen, I’m really not the right person to be giving advice on this type of thing, but my grandpa is. Come over to the store sometime and see what he has to say.”
“Really?” The beacon of hope made Mokuba’s eyes shine. “He wouldn’t mind or think I’m weird?”
“Not at all.”
“Mr. Mutou?” The woman tapped her wristwatch.
“All right. See you, Mokuba.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Yuugi.”
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 5, 2012 14:00:13 GMT -5
"We will begin the press conference now." Seto Kaiba spoke firmly to the gathered paparazzi, Anzu standing at his side and Yuugi a step away from them. "Recently a certain piece of tripe was published on goss-pop, one which created a great deal of difficulty for Anzu, a young woman who means a great deal to me." Normally such stiff posture and unemotional speaking would have been seen as a dead giveaway, but Seto Kaiba was well known for never talking about feelings that weren't about revenge or glory, so even that deviation was notable enough. "This piece of filth also saw fit to drag Yuugi, my rival and her friend, through the mud as well. Thus, we are here today to expose this nonsense for what it is, that we might be able to move on with our lives."
"Seto Kaiba, ZTV news." A red-headed woman spoke from the front row. "You have to admit that it is suspicious how sudden this relationship of yours with Anzu was."
"That's where you're wrong." Anzu spoke, taking the mic from Seto. "We've actually been seeing each other for sometime, ever since the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix, privately and discretely. Seto, my darling," Anzu said with practiced ease, "had wanted to keep it private out of fear that the press would create problems for me, make up rumors, but over time even his icy exterior melted. Than the matter of this Saturday's party came up, and we decided to be open and public with our relationship, so that people could get used to it before then.
Another reporter raised his hand. "The Daily Die Roll here. What about the photos that we've seen of you embracing Yuugi; were you in fact kissing him as part of some illicit affair against Mr. Kaiba?" The hairs on the back of Seto's neck stood on end, where no cameras were looking.
"I can assure everyone right here and right now that nothing of the sort was taking place." Yuugi spoke like a sound-tape reeling along. "My friend was attacked, I came to her aid, and she was worried that I was going to go on the warpath. We are friends, we have been friends for a long time, and that's all that we are. I myself am incredibly happy about Anzu and Seto being together; I can't think of any two people who deserve each other more than them."
Another hand rose up, accompanied by a predatory glint. "Mikata Teki, Goss-Pop's representative here." She stood up, tall and proud. "Yuugi Mutou, isn't it true that you blackmailed Seto Kaiba, that you had proof that Siegfried von Schroeder's plot at the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix was a collaborative farce designed to make him look like a hero, and you named as your price the ability to have Anzu for your own pleasure?"
"What?!" Anzu glared at Mikata, barely able to restrain herself.
"And isn't it true, Anzu, that you yourself are merely using both boys to prop yourself up, and would drop them both in a moment if you thought a better deal were to come along?"
"Are you being serious?" Seto Kaiba found it difficult to restrain his anger despite his considerable practice at it.
"And Seto, isn't it the case that your true interest in Anzu isn't about money or appearances, but simply to cause pain to your rival by rubbing in his face what he can never have?"
"You..." Yuugi Mutou felt his bangs beginning to rise up. Mikata Teki smiled, resembling a tiger shark more than a human.
"Hold it right there!" Two voices, one child-like, the other adult, spoke at the same time as both Rebecca Hopkins and Miss Chono stood up at opposite ends. The two exchanged looks, and such was their united purpose that they nodded to one another. "I think you've gone quite far enough, young lady." Miss Chono took the first turn.
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 5, 2012 16:12:30 GMT -5
“Mikata Hotaru Watashi Sasami Teki the Third! Cease and desist this ridiculous mudslinging at once! You are bringing yourself into disrepute, embarrassing your family and generally making a fool of yourself with this childish, vindictive vendetta.”
Mikata flinched at her litany of names being flung at her by her favourite teacher. She was surprised to see Miss Chono there. Wasn’t this supposed to be press only? Then again she had got in on a technicality – Goss-Pop had been only too happy to let the author of their latest, greatest article have another crack at the ‘Duel Monsters Love Triangle’, as it had been dubbed. Maybe Miss Chono was here on equally facetious grounds. Then again, if that was the case, why was she haranguing Mikata like that? Everyone knew Miss Chono loathed Anzu Mazaki, especially because of her relationship with Kaiba Corp’s CEO.
Mikata had not become Queen Bee at Domino High by acting weak in the face of challenge. She drew herself up, flicked back her dark hair and asked sweetly, “How is it mudslinging when it’s the truth?”
“The hell it is!” Anzu yelled from the dais. “The only thing not a lie was our names!”
“What you are doing is verbalising unsubstantiated rumour. In other words, slander.” The little blonde girl spoke like an adult, despite her obvious youth. When one of the Kaiba security team headed her way she held up her press pass. “Rebecca Hopkins, Chess City University Newsletter.”
Chess City was a metropolis seventy miles away. What the hell was some guttersnipe doing pretending she was from their prestigious university? Mikata would have snorted, had it not been so unladylike. Instead, she did what she always did with irritations too stupid to acknowledge: she pretended the girl didn’t exist.
“She is correct,” said Miss Chono said, folding her arms. “You’re pedalling slander of the highest order.”
“Prove it,” Mikata simpered. “If it’s not the truth, show me substantive evidence that what I’ve said is false.”
She knew they couldn’t: she had spent ages making sure those accusations were realistic enough to be true while also nebulous enough not to be verifiable. Who could prove one way or another that Seto Kaiba, who hated Yuugi Mutou wasn’t just trying to rub his face in it? Yuugi’s crush on Anzu had been clear to Mikata from the very beginning, and yet another reason why she hated her old friend. Dweebs like that were meant to be publically ridiculed, not indulged. It gave them the wrong impression that they were entitled to the same level of happiness as everyone else, which the world would prove wrong the moment they left school. Much better to put tomorrow’s cubicle monkeys in their place now, so they knew what to expect from the rest of their lives, plus, humiliating dweebs was FUN. Who could prove that a dweeb like Yuugi Mutou, like all dweebs ever, didn’t have a revenge streak that would motivate him into getting the girl by hook or by crook? And as for Anzu, she had already proven herself adept at dropping people when someone ‘better’ came along.
The reporters around them were frantically scribbling and typing the argument into their notes. Mikata winced at the idea of her own name appearing, but she was in the right, so why be intimidated by a little reflected glory?
“Can you prove I’m lying?” Mikata demanded again.
“I can prove you hate Anzu!” the blonde girl shouted. “I have photographic evidence of the mean tricks you’ve pulled on her and Yuugi over the years! Graffitied lockers, fish guts in their shoes, flyers with pictures of Anzu in her underwear at YOUR sleepover, plus a million swirlies, beatings and super-wedgies YOU encouraged and even COMMISSIONED bullies to do!”
“I don’t see how childish pranks from elementary school have anything to do with right now, especially since I had nothing to do with any of those,” Mikata said blithely. “Of course, since you’re not yet at that stage, I wouldn’t expect you to know about how we do things in big school.”
The girl turned cerise with rage. “Someone get me a laptop with PowerPoint and a projector!”
Mikata sighed and waggled her microphone at the dais. “I think we’ve all had enough of procrastination from the peanut gallery: Seto, Anzu and Yuugi, can you disprove any of the things said here today?” She smiled slyly. “Can you prove to us all, here and now, that this relationship is real and not some elaborate fake concocted for your own aims?”
Anzu looked delightfully ready to leap over the table and wrap her hands around Mikata’s throat. Mikata half hoped she would. ‘Aggressive in more ways than one’ would mean so much more if Anzu proved it in front of all and sundry like this.
“You mean-spirited, malicious, spiteful bi-”
Her incriminating words were cut off as, with the suddenness of striking predator, Seto Kaiba grabbed Anzu’s arm, spun her around to face him and clamped his mouth over hers.
….
Anzu froze at the suddenness of the kiss. Seto had his eyes closed, so he didn’t see hers widen in alarm. For a moment she wanted to fight him off, but then she remembered the watching crowd and realised she couldn’t. She was still frozen with shock, but then Seto moved his mouth a little, poked his tongue at the corner of hers to soften her lips, and she found herself … melting into the kiss. The shock didn’t go away, but it changed into shock that this wasn’t, actually, so bad. Nothing like kissing a snake or an eel, as she had imagined, Seto’s lips were dry and warm. She felt something cup the back of her head, tilting it back to make her mouth more accessible.
Then the pressure was gone. Seto pulled back. Anzu stared up at him with half-lidded eyes, disoriented until she heard him talk.
“There’s your proof.”
Reality was like a bucket of ice water. The entire crowd erupted in murmurs. Half a dozen cameras and camera phones continued to click, despite the kiss being over. The image of it would be splashed around gossip columns within the hour. Anzu turned her head to look out at the people who didn’t know her, but still felt able to judge her and her personal life. Mikata Teki practically sizzled with rage, but couldn’t be heard above the other reporters.
“Now that’s what I call a kiss!” said someone.
“I think those flowers need some water – they’re dried out from all that heat!” said someone else.
The rest of the press conference passed in a blur. Anzu said little, couldn’t bring herself to look at Yuugi, and left the dais hand in hand with Seto to the click of yet more cameras. It was only when she got inside, safely away from the reporters, that she did what she had been dying to do.
“Well that went –” Seto started to say, until she slapped him. It was an open-handed slap, dealt with enough force to send his head reeling sideways.
“You bastard!” she spat.
“Anzu!” Yuugi approached, obviously about to try mediating, but she backed away from them both.
“Just … leave me alone!” Tears were starting to fill her eyes. Before they could fall, she made her escape, dashing up the stairs to the guest bedroom and locking the door behind her. Once there, she flung herself on the bed and sobbed into her pillow.
It wasn’t fair! Her first kiss was supposed to be special, not just a tool for someone else’s use! The fact that she had enjoyed it didn’t make it feel any less sleazy. In fact, that made it worse. Her first kiss was supposed to be with someone she liked, maybe even loved, not Seto bloody Kaiba!
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Post by cypsiman2 on Feb 5, 2012 17:07:05 GMT -5
Seto Kaiba stood in blank confusion; real, true, honest confusion. He'd had time in the course of this wretched, infinitely entangled upon itself mess, to glean some romance novels and watch some scenes from the most acclaimed romance movies. There was, in all of them, the consensus that a heated and dangerous moment like that was the perfect moment to kiss, passionately, with heat. He hadn't been sure about it, but given what Anzu was about to do, he had to act. In the moment, she seemed to enjoy it, a lot he thought. Then again, he had no point of comparison he could draw upon in his own memory, but still, he felt at his cheek in disbelief; Anzu slapping him had somehow, inexcusably, come as a complete surprise.
"Seto..." He looked down at Yuugi, and saw a storm of emotions from behind his eyes; somewhere in the back of his own mind he was aware of Yuugi's feelings for Anzu, but generally dismissed them. This awareness, coupled with their rivalry, had caused him to feel a vindictive joy that he was able to one-up Yuugi in this, which he only now recognized for the taint on his own nascent feelings towards Anzu that it was.
"I acted poorly." Seto said, looking directly into Yuugi's eyes. "It was a rash and impulsive action that reflected poorly upon me, regardless of how much the media ate it up." It was an honesty that he rarely availed himself of, but an excessive guard would only do greater harm from this point on. Seto Kaiba was a bundled up mess of cold rationality and driven irrationality, and the former was, for the moment, winning over the latter.
"When Anzu's ready, we're all going to talk." Yes, they would have to. There was, impossibly, more at stake than just the Green Gables project.
....
"All right you two." Mikata glared at both women, the girl and her teacher, a bizarre sort of Trinity of Eve as all the rest of the reporters had run off to be the first to file their reports, wasting not even a pico second for the three of them. "Miss Chono, I thought we were on the same side. And you," she pointed at the American girl, "Rebecca Hopkins, was it? Who the hell are you anyway?"
"I am the American Duel Monsters champion, and a very good, dear friend of Yuugi and Anzu. Do you perhaps recall a few months back when all those monsters appeared from out of nowhere and it felt like the world was going to end?" Mikata stared at the girl; of course she remembered, who the hell didn't? Just because everyone had the sense to ignore it and move on with their lives didn't mean they didn't notice it! "Yeah, I helped to fight against that, so don't even think that someone as small and insignificant as you will be any sort of problem for me to deal with."
Mikata paused, took in a deep breath. "Okay, fine, now we all know why you're here." She turned back to Miss Chono. "That still doesn't explain why you're on her side instead of mine; didn't it just make your skin boil to see Anzu getting kissed by Seto? I mean, how could a girl like her deserve a guy like that?"
"I...I will admit that I didn't much care for that. However!" Miss Chono stuck her finger out at Mikata. "I've been praying, and action speaks far louder than feelings; so long as I do the right thing than it won't matter what sort of stupid jealous spats I might feel, a lesson you look to be ten years too early to learn." Miss Chono turned to Rebecca. "You're certain you can prove that Mikata's done all the things you say she's done?"
"Of course; she tries to cover it up in hidden entries on her blogs so that she can gloat with all her cronies, but that kind of security couldn't keep a baby out." Miss Chono grinned, and there was something...different about it. She turned back to Mikata.
"Young lady, I will speak on this only once; you do anything against Anzu Mazaki ever again, stir up one little piece of slander, send one more bully against her little friend, put a hair in her soup, and I will send those records over to Principal Yagami. And yes, I'm aware that this will land me in a great deal of trouble, but you know what? I'm fine with that." A strange luminescence began to shine from her face. "Because this face of mine? Proof positive that all this stupid high school bull was something I should have outgrown a long time ago, so I will not hesitate to take us both down, got it?" Mikata nodded fearfully, and then Miss Chono's face seemingly erupted in a golden light, prompting both Mikata and Rebecca to cover their eyes.
"Whoa." Rebecca was first to speak, Mikata just gasped. Miss Chono felt at her face, took off her shades and hat and studied herself in her compact.
"Yes! The spirit was telling the truth, yes!" She hollered across the grounds before clearing her throat. She then started speaking to herself. "Okay, don't get ahead yourself, the spirit says it'll only last so long as you stay on the straight and narrow, don't screw this up!" She then smiled a distressingly happy smile that left Mikata in a state of absolute fear. "Well, this settles it; the old me is gone, and you are going to have to be on your best behavior, got it Mikata Hotaru Watashi Sasami Teki the Third? Mikata nodded, honestly having no clue what had just happened; how could Miss Chono gone from that to...THAT!? Then she turned to Rebecca. "You'll be sure to send me those files?"
"Absolutely!" Rebecca had the same over-cheery smile that left Mikata feeling like a zebra in the midst of a den of lions. "I've got almost a dozen copies of it all, I'll let you have four."
"Marvelous! Well, I need to get to work on my lesson plan for tomorrow. Mikata, I hope you like tests!" She and Rebecca left together, leaving Mikata alone and thoroughly confused.
"But...but...I...her...Anzu...Seto...Yuugi..."
....
"Anzu? Honey?" Sakura Mazaki knocked on the door. "Can you please let me in?"
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Post by Scribbler on Feb 6, 2012 11:20:04 GMT -5
"Anzu? Honey?" Sakura Mazaki knocked on the door. "Can you please let me in?"
Anzu turned her face on the pillow, smearing what little make-up she had put on today. “No,” she gulped. “Just leave me alone.”
“Sweetheart, please, let me in.”
Snivelling, she got off the bed and scrubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands, but that just made things worse. Tripping across to the door, she slid the bolt across and opened it a crack. Her mother’s worried face appeared there.
“Anzu?”
“Mo-o-o-om!” Possessed of a sudden urge to act like a little kid, Anzu threw back the door and launched herself at her mother. Sakura wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tight, the way she used to when Anzu was small and so very unhappy after her father left. “Mom, he … he …”
“I know, sweetheart.” Sakura rubbed her back. “I saw. But I don’t think he meant any harm.”
“That doesn’t matter! He should’ve asked. Mom, I’ve never …” It was easier to say when she wasn’t looking at her mother’s face. “I’ve never kissed a guy before. He ruined my first kiss.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really!”
Sakura continued to rub her back, talking in a smooth, lilting tone. “So your life is over now, is that it?”
“No, but he still … he should’ve asked.”
“When? Before or after you yelled obscenities in front of a pack of rabid reporters?”
Anzu’s muscles tightened. “There were other ways he could’ve stopped me.”
“Of course. He could’ve pushed you off the dais. Or maybe propelled you over the table and into the audience like you wanted.”
Anzu pushed back, bracing her hands against her mother’s shoulders. “You’re not being sympathetic enough!”
“On the contrary; I’m being very sympathetic. I just want you to put things in perspective.”
“Mom, Seto ruined my first ever kiss! And he did it in public!”
“And did he put you off kissing ever again?”
“I … well, no.”
“Will you be locking yourself away and becoming a nun now?”
“Mom! Be serious.”
“Did you like your first experience of kissing, regardless of who it was with?”
Anzu frowned. She had liked it. That was half the problem. “That’s not the point.”
“So you DID like it.”
“I would’ve liked it more if I’d liked the guy I was kissing, too.”
“Oh, honey, very few people actually like the people they got their first kiss from. I absolutely loathed the guy I first kissed.”
“Then why did you kiss him?”
Sakura spiralled her hand at the wrist. “He was hot. As in, he was the hottest guy in my school, and he took me to the dance, and … well, one thing led to another and –”
“Mom! Overshare!”
“I didn’t sleep with him, sweetheart, but I did get a lovely kiss from him. And the next day he completely ignored me, and I hated him for it. But it was a useful lesson to learn.”
“What lesson was that?” Anzu asked mulishly.
“Stubble is prickly and causes zits. Clean shaven is definitely the way to go when kissing boys.”
“I shouldn’t have opened the door,” Anzu grumbled.
“Not looking like that, you shouldn’t have.”
“This isn’t how I thought this conversation would go.”
“I’m all for a good cry, honey, but not when there are bigger fish to fry. You, Seto and Yuugi put on a real show out there, even if you did deviate from the script. What on earth was Mikata Teki doing in the crowd? And who was that woman in the sunglasses, and the little blonde girl?”
Anzu came back to herself with a mental thump. Romantic disaster aside, those were some pretty good questions. She drew a deep breath and dropped her arms. “I hate Seto Kaiba.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you really?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“He humiliated me and stole my first kiss!”
“It looked to me like you were enjoying yourself.”
“MOM!”
Sakura raised her hands, palms outward. “Sorry. Now are you going to clean yourself up and come downstairs like a rational person, or are you going to stay up here and wail some more like a banshee.”
In answer, Anzu spun on her heel and slammed the en suite door behind her.
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